Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence that the United Democratic Front (UDF) will secure a decisive victory in the Kerala Assembly elections, projecting that the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 of the 140 seats.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP, said the exit poll predictions pointing to a UDF comeback did not come as a surprise, given his extensive campaign experience across the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats.
And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters.
Despite aligning with most projections, Tharoor reiterated his reservations about exit polls in India, citing the country’s social diversity and sampling challenges.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities.
You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
He also pointed to rising non-response rates as a key concern affecting the reliability of such surveys.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls released on Wednesday predicted a return to power for the UDF in Kerala after a decade, unseating the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Assembly was held on April 9, with results for Kerala and four other states set to be announced on May 4.