Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has rejected the predictions of exit polls and said he will wait until May 23 for the real results.
Tharoor on Sunday tweeted several messages, presenting facts and examples supporting his stance of rejecting the exit poll results that were broadcasted on different TV channels.
The senior Congress leader tweeted: "I believe the exit polls are all wrong. In Australia last weekend, 56 different exit polls proved wrong. In India many people do not tell pollsters the truth, fearing they might be from the government. Will wait till 23rd for the real results."
He was referring to the surprise win of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose government delivered a miracle result in Saturday's election and is now set to retain office, as the results of the election stood in stark contrast to pre-election polls, which had predicted a win for the centre-left Labor.
Along with the senior Congress leader, several other opposition leaders have also expressed their disappointment and anger over the findings of the exit polls.
Echoing Tharoor, with a more sarcastic tone, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter: "Every single exit poll can’t be wrong! Time to switch off the TV, log out of social media & wait to see if the world is still spinning on its axis on the 23rd."
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu too on Sunday took Twitter to express his stance regarding the exit poll results, writing:
"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 government will be formed in AP, we are confident that non-BJP parties will form a non-BJP government at the Centre."
Almost all exit polls released at the end of the seven-phase 17th Lok Sabha elections have predicted a clear majority for BJP-led NDA, with nearly or above 300 seats, out of a total 542.