State Vote
Mamata rejects exit polls, asks TMC to stay alert on counting day
This story was originally published at 21:22 IST on 30 April 2026
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NEW DELHI – West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday rejected the exit polls that are predicting a victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state and asked workers of her party, the All India Trinamool Congress, to be alert on counting day Monday and prevent any "switching" of her party's final vote tally with that of the BJP by officials of the Election Commission of India.
Pollsters like Matrize, Chanakya Strategies, P-Marq, and Poll Diary Wednesday projected a narrow win for the BJP in West Bengal. While Matrize gave the BJP 146-161 seats in the 294-member assembly, P-Marq gave it 150-175 seats. Today's Chanakya forecast a landslide victory for BJP with 192 seats and around 48% of the vote.
However, Peoples Pulse and Janmat Polls predicted a sweep for the Trinamool Congress. Pollster Axis My India Thursday cited an "environment of fear" for not releasing its exit poll for Bengal. Its head, Pradeep Gupta, said there could be issues with sampling as people were reluctant to respond.
"Let me reassure you. What they are showing on TV is from the BJP office," Banerjee said in a video message posted on her social media handle on X. She said media organisations were forced to publicise data "manufactured by the BJP", which was trying to delay the stock market slide.
"They (the BJP) have made their last play through the 'godi' (lapdog) media," she said, citing the exit polls of 2021 for the West Bengal assembly election and 2024 for the general election, which had missed the mark completely. The chief minister expressed confidence that her party would "definitely" get at least 226 seats, based on the way people have voted.
The Trinamool Congress chief also asked her party candidates to ensure that counting centres are guarded round the clock. "On counting day, candidates and party workers must be alert when the final vote tally is uploaded on the computer," she said. "There may be attempts to switch the TMC's and BJP's vote counts." The results of the elections to legislative assemblies in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal will be declared Monday. End
Reported by Asim Khan
Edited by Rajeev Pai
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