Exit Polls Not Final Decision But Hint BJP Win, Says Nitin Gadkari
The new government will be formed under Modi, says Nitin Gadkari, addressing speculation he is in the running for the PM’s post.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said the exit polls are not the "final decision" but indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party will once again come to power, riding on the development work done by the Narendra Modi government.
The senior BJP leader was speaking at the launch of a poster of 'PM Narendra Modi', a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi which will release on Friday, a day after Election Results 2019.
"Exit polls are not the final decision, but are indications. But, by and large, what comes out in the exit polls also reflects in the election results," Gadkari said in Nagpur.
Most exit polls have forecast another term for Modi, with some of them projecting that the BJP-led NDA would get over 300 seats to comfortably cross the majority mark of 272 in the Lok Sabha.
Seeking to set the record straight on speculations of him being in the prime ministerial race, Gadkari said that the new government will be formed under Modi's leadership.
"I have clarified it around 20 to 50 times. We fought the elections under the leadership of Modiji, and he will certainly become the prime minister again,” said Gadkari. "The people of the country are once again supporting the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the work done by us in the last five years. And the exit polls are an indication.”
According to the union roads minister, the BJP will win the same number of seats in Maharashtra as in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the BJP won 23 in 2014 when it contested the polls in alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena.
In April, the Election Commission halted the release of the Modi biopic, saying that it cannot be screened till the model code of conduct is in force, in the larger interest of ensuring a level playing field and "free and fair elections".
Earlier in May, makers of the Modi biopic announced that the film will be released countrywide on May 24, a day after Election Results 2019 are declared.