India General Elections 2024 | Exit polls: Happy surprise for NDA in Bengal, Odisha, South

PM Modi said that ‘opportunistic’ INDI Alliance failed to strike a chord with voters (right) Rahul Gandhi countered the BJP citing the failure of Agneepath Scheme. File Pics/Getty Images

Several exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could retain power for a third straight term, with the BJP-led NDA expected to win a big majority in the Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling alliance in all likelihood will open its account in Tamil Nadu and Kerala and sweep Karnataka but may see a fall in its tally in states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Haryana, according to multiple pollsters.

The Republic TV-P Marq poll claimed that the ruling alliance could win up to 359 seats and the Opposition INDIA bloc could bag 154 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. The Republic TV-Matrize poll gave 353-368 seats to the NDA and 118-133 seats to the Opposition.

The Jan Ki Baat poll gave 362-392 seats to the ruling NDA and 141-161 to the Opposition alliance. The India TV-CNX gave them 371-401 and 109-139 seats, respectively, while the corresponding tally predicted by News Nation was 342-378 and 153-169, respectively.

At the time of filing of this report, numbers for 16 states were in from the India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll, which said the NDA is projected to comfortably win 361-401 Lok Sabha seats, powered by strong performances in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh. Meanwhile, the Opposition INDIA bloc is shaping up to be a distant runner-up and is estimated to secure anywhere between 131-166 seats in the 543-strong Lok Sabha.

In Delhi, which sends seven members to the Lok Sabha, as per the India Today-Axis My India Poll, the BJP is projected to win 6-7 seats, dealing a major blow to the INDIA bloc. The pollster predicted at most one seat for the Congress-AAP combine, and none for Independents.

In Maharashtra's neighbouring state Gujarat, the India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll has predicted that the ruling BJP is likely to win 25-26 seats of the 26 Lok Sabha seats up for grabs.

The India Today-Axis My India also predicted that the BJP could continue to dominate another neighbouring state of Maharashtra, ie, Madhya Pradesh. The party is expected to win 28-29 seats in the state as per the survey. The Congress is not expected to open its account in MP, or may go home with a single seat, the survey said.

In Goa, which is India's smallest state, the India Today-Axis My India Exit Poll projected that there may be a neck-and-neck fight, with the NDA and the INDIA bloc expected to win one seat each.

In the neighbouring Congress-ruled state of Karnataka, despite the hullaballoo of the saffron party being projected to win better than their previous record of 25 seats in 2019, the BJP-led NDA's vote share is expected to shrink this time around as per India Today-Axis My India survey, with the Congress being the primary gainer.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday said he has no faith in exit polls and predicted that the Congress will cross double digits in the state.

362-392
NDA Exit poll as per Jan Ki Baat

371-401
NDA Exit poll as per India TV-CNX

342-378
NDA Exit poll as per News Nation

353-368
NDA Exit poll as per Republic TV-Matrize

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