Exit polls refer to a post-election survey in which the anticipated winners are predicted. The predictions are made based on voter feedback collated by various survey agencies after the elections.
The Election Commission Of India has prohibited the release of any exit polls amid the voting process. Hence, they are published 30 minutes after the last vote is cast.
Exit polls help in understanding how people have cast their votes in the elections. They help in decoding the political atmosphere in the country and who is likely to gain power.
After the Lok Sabha Elections 2019, exit polls predicted that NDA would win 285 seats. The BJP-led alliance, however, recorded a landslide victory by clinching 353 seats and the ruling party alone secured 303 seats.
In India, the first exit polls were held in 1957 when the Indian Institute of Public Opinion conducted a post-poll survey during the second Lok Sabha elections. Doordarshan hired the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) to conduct exit polls nationwide in 1996.