Before returning to Tihar Jail, Kejriwal says exit poll surveys fake, counting agents must stay alert

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the exit polls that predicted a thumping victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the Lok Sabha poll were fake and that the surveys had been released to demoralise workers of Opposition parties ahead of the counting of votes.

Before returning to Tihar Jail after the expiration of his 21-day interim bail, the Chief Minister urged counting agents of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) candidates to stay alert, alleging that the pollsters had released the fake numbers on the “instructions from the top”.

“These exit polls are nothing but mind games to drive you into depression,” Mr. Kejriwal said, addressing AAP workers at the party headquarters.

‘Check for discrepancy’

“You must remain there [at the counting centres] till the final counting is done to prevent any chances of manipulation in the election results. Five per cent of the VVPATs are matched with EVMs. If there is any discrepancy, we can expose their EVM scam,” he added.

The exit polls, released on Saturday evening after the conclusion of the polling for the seventh and the last phase of the general election, predicted a third term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with a decisive victory for the NDA.

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Apart from Mr. Kejriwal, several leaders of the INDIA bloc have dismissed the predictions, claiming that the Opposition was set to form the next government at the Centre with at least 295 seats.

Attacking the BJP over the predictions, the AAP chief said several “theories” about why the surveys indicated such a landslide victory for the NDA are doing rounds. 

“One of the theories is that their friends have invested money in the share market and if the market goes up as soon as it opens [on Monday], they can withdraw funds and earn a huge amount of money,” Mr. Kejriwal said.

“According to the second theory, the exit poll numbers could have been manipulated to influence the poll outcome by putting pressure on election officers [on the day of counting].” 

“The third theory says the predictions aim at preventing a rebellion against Prime Minister Modi and [Home Minister] Amit Shah in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) before the declaration of the results,” the Chief Minister added.