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At least five exit poll surveys, on Sunday, 19 May, predicted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to cross double-digits in West Bengal, up from 2 seats in 2014.
Dubbing exit polls as "gossip", West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Sunday tweeted she doesn't trust such surveys, as the "game plan" is to use them for "manipulation" of EVMs.
"I don't trust Exit Poll gossip. 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," Banerjee said in a tweet.
In West Bengal, some of the exit polls predicted the TMC getting 24 seats, the BJP bagging 16, the Congress getting two and the Left Front drawing a blank.
In 2014, Trinamool Congress had won 34 out of the 42 seats, followed by the Congress, which won four seats. Both the BJP and CPI(M) had got two seats each.
The major gains for the NDA are in West Bengal where it is expected to win 11 seats, up from 2 it had won last time.
According to Times Now survey, in West Bengal, the BJP is likely to make a gain of nine seats taking its tally to 11 as against two in 2014. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress may win 28 seats while Congress may finish with two and the Left front one seat.
The BJP, which had won just two out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal in 2014, may bag 19 to 23 seats this time, according to an exit poll conducted by India Today-Axis.
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Published: 19 May 2019,06:48 PM IST