Exit Polls 2022: 5 Most Asked Questions

To generally estimate which party and candidate have the most supporters and votes, organizations conduct what is known as an Exit Poll in order to forecast the results of the elections. 

They provide a general overview, a trend, and a sense of where the country's mind is moving.

A few hours after voting has concluded in the ongoing elections in Gujarat, Himachal, and Delhi (MCD), the results of the exit polls done by various organizations will be made public.

Here are the five most asked questions on Exit polls and their answers. 

5 Most Asked Questions And Answers On Exit Polls

1. Why it is called an Exit Poll?

Ans. True to its name, an exit poll is conducted right after a voter has exited the voting booth after casting his or her vote. The data collected from the voters will help estimate which party/candidate is most likely to win the election. 

2. How are exit polls conducted?

Ans. Exit polls in India are mostly conducted by media outlets in collaboration with other major organizations. One of the most common methods of conducting an exit poll is sampling. A sample of a constituency's smallest voting units which can include an entire electorate and not just the voters outside a booth which cover parameters like age, sex, caste, region, etc. is chosen, and on election day, at least one interviewer (from the organization that is conducting the poll) is placed in each one in order to estimate the outcome of the election. The interviewer visits persons who have already cast their ballots in a planned and methodical manner to request an interview.

Exit poll MCD: AAP 149-171; BJP 69-91; Cong 3-7; others 5-9.. AAP 43%, BJP 35%, Cong 10% others 12%. AAP set to end 15 years of BJP rule in MCD #IndiaTodayExactPoll @AxisMyIndia poll

— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) December 5, 2022

3. Are exit polls always accurate?

Ans. Exit polls undoubtedly give us an estimated number of how many voters have voted for which party or candidate. They provide a sense of where the election result will be heading. 

Since the first exit polls were conducted in India in 1957, there have been occasions when some of them have accurately anticipated the election result while other times they failed to. Exit polls are not 100% true at times, though what they can do is provide a comprehensive picture of a constituency and its political climate.

4. Why are exit polls controversial?

Ans. Ever since their introduction in 1957, exit polls have been surrounded by a slew of controversies. It is often brought to light that organizations carrying out exit polls may be skewed in their choice of language, scheduling of the questions, methodology, and sample size. 

If certain reports are to be believed, the organizations conducting the exit polls may receive under-the-table funding from political parties or their adversaries and so may not fully reflect the attitudes or viewpoints of the voting population. 

Voters have also been known to frequently lie to pollsters.

In turn, this has an impact on prediction accuracy, and if predictions turn out to be false, there is little use in doing exit polls.

5. Has the Election Commission banned exit polls?

Ans. No, the Election Commission of India has not banned exit polls, however, there are restrictions on the dissemination of poll results. 

The ECI says, in the 48 hours leading up to the close of voting in each phase, TV, radio channels, cable networks, websites, and social media platforms should take precautions to make sure that the content of any programs they telecast, broadcast, or displayed "does not contain any material, including views or appeals by participants that may be construed as promoting or prejudicing the prospect" of any particular party or candidate. 

It also says, “attention is also invited to Section 126A of the R.P. Act 1951, which prohibits conduct of Exit poll and dissemination of its results during the period mentioned therein, i.e. the hour fixed for commencement of poll in the first phase and half an hour after the time fixed for close of poll for the last phase in all states.”

The ECI further stipulates that no news outlet, website, or social media platform may broadcast any final election results prior to the ECI officially declaring them.

The exit polls may not always be correct, but they have often been shown to be a reliable indicator of the direction that the Indian political system is taking.