Opposition parties have rejected exit poll results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which has projected to a comfortable win for Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party and a disappointing picture for regional parties and alliances.

The News18-Ipsos exit poll showed NDA securing 336 seats beating the 82 seats by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, a coalition of opposition parties. The tally of the Congress, which won 44 seats in 2014 — its worst-ever electoral performance — is projected to reach 46 seats.

West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee dismissed the exit poll results as a "gossip". She added, "The game plan is to manipulate or replace thousands of EVMs through this gossip. I appeal to all Opposition parties to be united, strong and bold. We will fight this battle together.”

Congress spokesperson Rajeev Gowda said that exit polls are regularly wrong, and seat share and vote share predictions are very difficult to make. "Fear is the key so a lot of people are hesitant to reveal their true choice. Let us wait for May 23, the results will be sufficiently different," he said.

> Exit polls predict comfortable NDA win in 2019 Lok Sabha elections

Congress leader P C Chacko said that the results will be different from exit polls and there were so many possibilities which will become clear on May 23.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also rejected the poll and said that actual results on May 23 will be different from what exit polls have predicted. "We don't believe in exit polls. They are often not close to reality," said TDP leader Rammohan Rao.

TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu said that exit polls have proved wrong in many instances. Naidu said he is confident that TDP will definitely form the government in Andhra Pradesh and non-BJP allies will also oust the current government at the centre.

Time and again exit polls have failed to catch the People's pulse. Exit polls have proved to be incorrect and far from ground reality in many instances. While undoubtedly TDP govt will be formed in AP, we are confident that non-BJP parties will form a non-BJP govt at the center.

— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 19, 2019

In Odisha, the ruling BJD expressed the hope to form the government for the fifth straight term in the state and perform well in the Lok Sabha elections. "I don't want to speculate on the number as shown in the exit polls. But I can certainly say we will secure a two-third majority in the Assembly and repeat the same in the Lok Sabha," said Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Deb.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh said in a tweet that if "TV scientists have any shame" they should remember the exit polls of 2004, 2013 and 2015 about Delhi.

किसी EXIT Poll ने गठबंधन को UP में 56 सीट दिया, किसी ने 17 दिया, किसी ने 11 लेकिन भक्तों की तरह TV वाले भी नारा लगा रहे हैं "आयेगा तो मोदी ही" #गाँजे_की_बिक्री_पर_रोक_लगाओ

— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) May 19, 2019

Asked for her reaction, CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said, "Let us wait for May 23."

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu Sunday mocked at the exit polls, saying they were not exact polls. "Exit polls do not mean exact polls. We have to understand that. Since 1999, most of the exit polls have gone wrong," the Vice-President pointed out.

(With inputs from agencies)

First Published:May 19, 2019 11:08 PM IST