Minister Satish Jarkiholi says he has no faith in exit polls

Exit polls are an important feature of the electoral process in a democracy. They help gauge public opinion, provide important clues on which way the wind is blowing.

But when their results are so wide off the mark — on Saturday, several polls had predicted that the BJP-led NDA would get a roughly two-thirds majority, with some even projecting the NDA would touch 400 seats — it is only natural for questions to be raised. More so when they have shown the power to move markets.

On Monday, the BSE Sensex had surged, ending the day up 2,507 points or 3.39 per cent, as investors were enthused with these polls, which indicated a return of the incumbent with a comfortable majority. But, on Tuesday, when the actual results were declared, and reality was different by a dramatic margin, the markets tanked 5.74 per cent.