India General Elections 2024 | Not relying on exit polls: Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole claims INDIA alliance getting 300 seats

Nana Patole

As voting for the India General Elections 2024 concluded on Saturday, Maharashtra Congress leader Nana Patole negated the exit poll predictions for the state and said that the party is not relying on exit polls adding that the INDIA alliance will get more than 300 seats, reported news agency ANI.

He said that the contest was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the public in India General Elections 2024.

"This election was Narendra Modi vs public, in which the public was against BJP and was standing firm for the INDI alliance, so not relying on the exit polls we are convinced that INDI alliance will get more than 300 seats," said Nana Patole while talking to ANI on Saturday.

Exit polls on Saturday predicted that the Bhartiya Janata Party-led National-Democratic Alliance (NDA) will leave behind the INDIA bloc to clinch victory in 32 to 35 seats in Maharashtra. Voting in the state of Maharashtra for 48 seats concluded in the first five phases of the Lok Sabha elections.

Times Now ETG in its exit poll figures showed a tight race between the NDA and the INDIA bloc. According to the figures, NDA is getting 26 seats while INDIA is securing 22 seats. The exit poll survey by News 18 also indicates NDA's win in the state with the alliance securing 32 to 35 seats while the INDIA bloc winning 15 to 18 seats, reported ANI.

Republic PMARQ in its exit poll indicates that NDA will secure victory on 29 seats while the INDIA bloc will win 19 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP secured 23 out of 48 seats while Shiv Sena won 18 seats. Nationalist Congress Party managed to secure victory on four seats. When asked about who will be the PM face of INDI alliance, Patole said, "Yesterday, our president Mallikarjun Kharge declared that Rahul Gandhi should become PM. This is not just the sentiments of Congress workers but the common people also have the same sentiments," reported ANI.

Meanwhile, following the meeting with INDIA bloc parties, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge exuded confidence that the opposition alliance will win more than 295 seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Kharge, along with other opposition leaders, posed for photographs following the meeting on Saturday.

"INDIA bloc will win at least 295 seats in the elections...it will be over that, but not less. We have analysed after discussing with all the leaders, and there is no doubt in the number...this is people's survey, based on the information given by people," Kharge said while speaking to reporters on Saturday, reported ANI.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised for a hat-trick win in India General Elections 2024 with a massive majority, exit polls predicted on Saturday and indicated that the ruling party at the Centre would improve its performance in several states ruled by other parties. A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of "400 paar" stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP also improving its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Narendra Modi-led BJP is seeking a third term in power, while the opposition INDIA bloc is aiming to wrest power by stopping the juggernaut.

(With inputs from ANI)