Lok Sabha Election Results 2024: All About Exit Polls And When To Check Them

As soon as voting concludes for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections after the seventh phase on June 1, exit poll results will be released.

Following the end of the elections in the world’s largest democracy on June 1, various agencies will start publishing exit poll results for the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly elections in four states – Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. These exit polls provide early indications of potential winners before the actual results are officially declared.

The counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls and Assembly elections will take place on June 4, with the final results being announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

What Are Exit Polls ?

An exit poll is a post-election survey similar to an opinion poll, which is conducted before elections. Exit polls are predictions based on voter feedback collected by survey agencies after they cast their votes. The purpose of exit polls is to reflect public sentiment and electoral trends before the actual results are announced. However, exit polls are not precise predictors and can sometimes miss the mark regarding the actual outcome.

The polls are not always 100 percent accurate.

Several political research agencies and TV news channels strive to provide the ‘most accurate’ predictions on vote shares, seats, parties, and candidates.

However, the poll body prohibits releasing exit polls during the voting process, but they are allowed to be published 30 minutes after the last vote is cast.

This is governed by Section 126A of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951. “No person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicise by means of the print or electronic media or disseminate in any other manner, whatsoever, the result of an exit poll during such period as may be notified by the Election Commission in this regard,” reads Section 126A of the RP Act, 1951.

Some of the most well-known political research agencies that release exit poll results are Axis My India, IPSOS, Chanakya, Polstrat, and several others.

When Will the Exit Poll Results Be Out?

According to the rules, in this electoral cycle, exit poll data cannot be released before 6:30 pm on June 1, after the last round of polling. Initial trends are expected to start rolling out by 7 pm.

Polling for 486 of the 543 Lok Sabha seats has already been conducted over six phases. Voters from 57 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across eight states and Union Territories will cast their votes in the seventh and final phase of polling on Saturday (June 1), marking the end of about a 44-day-long polling exercise, the second-longest voting cycle in the history of independent India.

What Were the Exit Poll Predictions in 2019?

In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, most exit poll agencies predicted approximately 285-300 seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). However, the BJP-led alliance secured a landslide victory, winning 353 seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone securing 303 seats.

Congress won 52 seats, and its alliance – United Progressive Alliance (UPA) – won 91 seats.