Nitish Kumar rejects exit poll results

PATNA - Even as exit polls predict a clean sweep for the Janata Dal(U)-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Tuesday rejected the forecast saying that they may not always be right.

Talking to reporters in Patna a day before the assembly election results are to be declared, Nitish Kumar said the exit polls in the last election did not give the right picture of the results.

In the last elections, the exit polls were held on the day of the poll… they also influenced the next round of voting, the chief minister said, adding: Yet it said that no one will get majority but our alliance won with proper majority.

The chief minister was reacting to a comment by Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Ramvilas Paswan that the exit polls have been influenced by money power.

Paswan said Monday that the Rashtriya Janata Dal-LJP combine could have got the exit poll result in their favour if they had Rs.50 crore.

Three exit polls have predicted victory for the JD-U-BJP coalition. One exit poll had given the JD-U-BJP alliance 185 to 201 seats, while the RJD-LJPs tally was forecast as low as 22 to 32 seats in the 243-member state assembly.

The six-phased elections in Bihar ended Saturday. The results will be announced Nov 24.