Prashant Kishor Breaks Silence: His First Reaction To Lok Sabha Prediction Blunder

Election strategist Prashant Kishor acknowledged that his prediction regarding the Lok Sabha election results was incorrect, on Friday. "Yes, I and pollsters like me got it wrong. We are ready to eat the humble pie," Kishor, the founder of Jan Suraj, admitted in an interview with India Today.

Before the Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4, Kishor had projected that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might achieve a seat tally close to or exceeding its 2019 total of 303 seats.

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Prashant Kishor's First Reaction

Contrary to these projections, the actual election results revealed a different outcome from what the exit polls had forecasted, which had anticipated a landslide victory for the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The BJP's seat count fell to 240, significantly lower than the previous election. Consequently, the BJP-led alliance now relies on support from parties such as the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Janata Dal (United) to secure a majority in the lower house, as reported by Hindustan Times

Currently, the NDA holds 293 seats, and Modi is set to be sworn in as Prime Minister for the third time on June 9. During the interview with India Today, Kishor declared that he would refrain from predicting the number of seats won in future elections.

The poll strategist, who had previously guided the BJP to victory in the 2014 general elections, conceded that his projections had "significantly missed the mark" in several critical areas, as per media reports.

"I had put my assessment in front of you, and I have to admit on camera that the assessment was wrong by a considerable 20 per cent margin. We were saying BJP would get somewhere close to 300, and they ended up with 240," he stated. Kishor also emphasized that he had noted a degree of dissatisfaction, but not widespread discontent, against Modi.

Kishor mentioned that there was no "positive clamour" from the opposition, which contributed to the creation of a status quo, albeit with some geographical expansion in the east and south. "Now, obviously, we have been proved wrong. But if you look beyond the numbers, it's not that far off. Ultimately, they got a 36 percent vote share, which maintains the status quo, with only a 0.7 percent decrease in terms of vote share," Kishor concluded.