Pollsters failed to predict a triple century for the BJP at the hustings in UP even as they did forecast an edge for the saffron party in the politically crucial state.
Most psephologists in these polls had projected 160-210 seats for BJP in the state, which sends 403 lawmakers to the Assembly. But the party by winning 311 seats surprised many, including some of the BJP leaders.
The exit polls for Punjab also went haywire with the Congress getting almost a two-thirds majority in the 117 seats House. The exit polls had forecast a close fight between the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
In the case of Uttarakhand, the results of most of the exit polls came on expected lines with the BJP scoring half century, winning 57 of the total 70 assembly seats in the mountain state.
The projections for the western state of Goa also went completely off the mark as the Congress emerged as the single largest party against pollsters’ forecast of BJP winning the maximum number of seats in the state.
In the final results, Congress secured 17 seats as against 13 of the BJP in the 40-seat house.
Manipur exit poll was a mixed bag with one poll agency giving the BJP lead over the Congress. However, at the end, it proved to be the other way round.
The Congress won 28 seats in the northeastern state followed by BJP with about 21 seats.
On March 9, Times Now-VMR poll had projected 190-210 seats for the BJP in the UP assembly, while India News-MRC gave it 185 and ABP-Lokniti CSDS 164-176 seats.
The three polls projected 110-130, 120 and 156-169 seats respectively for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and 57-74, 90 and 60-72 seats for the Mayawati-led BSP.
India Today-Axis exit poll predicted 62-71 seats for the Congress in 117-member Punjab assembly, a comfortable majority, and 42-51 to Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP. The Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP combine was projected to be decimated in the state which it has ruled for a decade.
All polls showed the alliance getting reduced to a single digit tally.
However, India TV-C Voter projected 59-67 seats for debutante AAP and 41-49 for the Congress. India News-MRC and News 24-Chanakya forecast a dead heat by giving 55 and 54 seats each to both parties.
BJP was predicted to return to power in Uttarakhand, with India Today and News 24 projecting a comfortable majority for the party, giving it 46-53 and 53 seats respectively, in the 70-member House, way more than the halfway mark of 30.
However, India TV gave 29-35 seats to the party.
India Today projected 18-22 seats for the BJP in 40-seat Goa assembly followed by the Congress with 9-13 seats. India TV predicted a hung assembly, projecting 15-21 seats for the BJP and 12-18 for the Congress.
In the NDTV poll of polls, an average of several exit polls, the BJP was projected to win 179 seats, the SP-Congress 136 and the BSP 77 seats in the country’s largest state.
The channel, however, later revised its projection, giving BJP 211 seats, a clear majority, followed by SP-Congress combine at 122 and BSP at 61.
It forecast 55 seats for the Congress in Punjab, closely followed by the AAP with 54 seats. The incumbent Akali Dal-BJP alliance was predicted staring at a virtual decimation with only 7 seats in the 117-member assembly.
In Uttarakhand, it gave the BJP a majority with 43 seats followed by the ruling Congress with 23.
In Manipur, NDTV predicted a close fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP with the former getting 26 and the latter 24 in the 60-member assembly. Congress has been ruling the northeastern state for the last 15 years.