(Image source from: Exit poll result show Narendra Modi close to Delhi?})

Narendra Modi's poll strategy seems to have paid-off after all. Exit poll 2014 show that the BJP and its allies are likely to sweep the 2014 elections.

If the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) get the required majority then Narendra Modi will become the next prime minister of India. And going by the exit poll results Narendra Modi seems to be close to Delhi.

Any party or alliance that musters a majority of 272 seats in the Lok Sabha will form a government. However, the number is often reached by getting outside support from regional parties.

Most of the pollsters were of the opinion that the BJP would get its highest tally ever. The saffron party is likely to win a little more than 200 to just below 300 seats, suggest the pollsters. Also most exit polls predicted the worst ever performance by the Congress.

The News 24-Today's Chanakya poll predicted the BJP tally to be 291 seats and gave the NDA 340 seats. If the prediction of this research group proves to be true then it would be the first time that the BJP would be getting a majority on its own after 1984.

According to the C-Voter, the NDA is expected to win 289 seats, with only 101 seats for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The results of the research group are based on a  randomly selected sample of 166,901 respondents in 543 Lok Sabha seats that went into polls this election. The C-Voter claims that the margin of error is likely to be +\-3 % on a national basis.

The Times Now-ORG poll suggest that the NDA is likely to win 249 to 265 seats, a little short from the magic number of 272 that is quite achieable.

Exit poll by Cicero for the India Today group predicted the NDA to win between 261 and 283 seats.

The pollsters' Congress tally were also quite varied. the News24 poll attributed only 57 seats, while the Times Now poll predicted the party to win around 138 seats. If the Congress manages to win a mere 57 seats, then it would be a historic low for the party since the country's independence.

Exit poll results are not always correct as it was proved in 2004, when pollsters predicted the NDA to form the third successive government at the centre. However, they have been right also, like in the last assembly elections held in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

The accuracy of the present exit polls will be known on May 16, when the election results would be declared.

(Picture Source: s2.firstpost.in)
(AW: Pratima Tigga)