Haryana and Maharashtra 2019 assembly election: The only exit poll that got it right

The Maharashtra and Haryana assembly election results are done and dusted. While BJP is set to form a government in the western state of Maharashtra, the saffron party has slipped below the halfway mark in Haryana.

According to the Election Commission (EC) website, BJP has secured 40 out of 90 seats in Haryana. Congress has come in a close second with 31 seats while Jannayak Janta Party (JPP) has won 10 seats. In Maharashtra, the BJP and Shiv Sena combination has won 162 seats while Congress has managed 104 seats along with its ally NCP.

So which exit poll got their numbers right? First, let us look at Haryana. Here is what the pollsters had predicted on Monday after voting ended.

A quick look at the table shows that except India Today-Axis My India, all the pollsters expected a comfortable majority for BJP. Axis My India released their numbers a day late on Tuesday predicted a hung assembly.

Shifting focus to Maharashtra, all pollsters predicted a clear majority for the NDA. However, most predictions were close to 200 seats for the Shiv Sena – BJP combination. The Axis My India poll is the closest to the eventual reality as they predicted the incumbents would get 166 to 194 seats. However, one must note that the final result is lower than the Axis My India’s lower range of 166.