Even with the best methodology there is a limitation to what opinion poll/exit polls can achieve. When done correctly, the polls should give the broad story, points out Rajeeva Karandikar, director, Chennai Mathematical Institute.
JD-U's Krishnamurari Sharan alias Prem Mukhiya has polled 61,848 votes, while the RJD's Atri Muni alias Shakti Singh Yadav has got 61,836 votes.
Accusing the Congress and third front of fuelling instability, Narendra Modi on Tuesday sought a clear-cut mandate, appealing to voters to give National Democratic Alliance at least 300 seats in the Lok Sabha polls for providing a strong and stable government at the Centre.
Modi knows how to turn Gujarati pride into an emotive issue at election time and a Gujarati President would have its own electoral resonance and significance, note Sunil Gatade and Venkatesh Kesari.
Amid questions over his future, many political observers believe he has enhanced his political stature.
Addressing over 10,000 block level and district level presidents Congress president Sonia Gandhi blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party for the" grave damage done to our secular polity, our society aand our economy by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government."
The bypolls are termed as a 'rehearsal' for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls by CM Yogi Adityanath.
The BJP's relations with some alliance partners, including its oldest ally the Shiv Sena, Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal-United, Akali Dal and Rashtriya Lok Samta Party of Union minister Upendra Kushwaha, have been somewhat tense, and Shah's comments are being seen as an attempt to smooth their ruffled feathers.
By filing his nomination as Congress president on Friday, Shashi Tharoor has shown he is no 'quockerwodger' -- a word he introduced into our lexicon which means someone acting on the instructions of an influential third party.
As vice president and ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Jagdeep Dhankar is inheriting a troubled legacy. Although the government faces no real numerical challenges in the Upper House, political and legal challenges are there aplenty.
Jha will contest against National democratic Alliance's nominee Harivansh of the Janata Dal-United.
The crowds were stunned into silence for a few seconds, after which they erupted in applause for the 69-year-old leader who has ruled the state for nearly 15 years.
Neither the ruling DMK nor the fractured AIADMK Opposition anticipated that an assembly by-election would put them both to test, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Wednesday asked Bharatiya Janata Party workers to strive hard to achieve a victory in the forthcoming assembly elections in five states and in the parliamentary election in 2004.
Paswan has also spoken to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, Rajak told PTI, adding that he should join forces with another young leader Tejashwi Yadav to take on the NDA.
'Can any nation claim, guarantee that there will be no terror strike?'
The case of the two Shiv Sena factions for legitimacy and the party symbol, 'Bow and Arrow', is now before the Election Commission. Whichever way the EC findings go, the other can be expected to move the Supreme Court. They would need a final verdict before the parliamentary polls, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
'Our approach is forward-looking. The central leadership wants young leaders to lead the charge now. This will also send a clear signal that lapses will not be tolerated. We are targeting beyond 2025.' Satyavrat Mishra reports.
Pathan brothers turn down Congress ticket; Rahul's impersonal ways; Modi on DD; RaGa's loss, NaMo's gain. All this and more from the election battlefield.
Addressing BJP workers at a felicitation function after the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory in Bihar elections and various bypolls, he asserted that the only mantra for his party's victory was 'Sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas' and also launched a veiled attack on the West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, saying those who cannot challenge the saffron party democratically have resorted to 'murdering' its workers to realise their goals.
Congress leader Shatrughan Sinha said the "writing on the wall is clear" that the 'Mahagathbandhan' will be 'maha vijayi' (grandly victorious) as everyone can see the attraction and euphoria for the grand opposition alliance.
'We had the option of either crossing over to the opposition or fighting on our own with a focus on seats being contested by the JD-U as its reluctance was the main reason the LJP was offered only so few seats'
JD-U leaders came down heavily on the Begusarai MP for his snide remarks.
"Lalu ji had madhur sambandh (cordial relations) with my father and political mentor Ram Vilas Paswan. I thank him for lending credence to my leadership. But, my current priority is the ongoing state-wide Ashirwad Yatra", Chirag told reporters in Patna.
"The majority is very thin and anything can happen. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party -- JD-U finished third and if anyone is celebrating the win, it's a joke. The BJP has done well, for which it had to do a lot of political strategising," he said.
'Parties which supported me were all threatened. This could hardly have been called a fair election.' 'This is Modi's India.'
Known for weighing his options carefully before making any move, Kumar, upon a closer look, comes across as a risk taker who has not shied away from going against the tide.
The ruling Congress received a jolt in the national capital on Thursday when it lost two assembly seats earlier held by it, as Bharatiya Janata Party wrested one while the Rashtriya Janata Dal opened its account in the city.In a jolt to the National Democratic Alliance in Bihar, opposition RJD, Lok Janshakti Party and Congress bagged ten assembly seats while the Janata Dal-United and BJP won six seats in the by-elections in 18 constituencies.
The ceremony will be held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Noted poet K Satchidanandan has alleged that he was restrained by Facebook from liking, commenting and sharing posts for 24-hours after he tried to upload online a satire video on the Bharatiya Janata Party's defeat in the recently concluded Kerala assembly polls.
There is nothing to suggest that the DMK stands to gain from the AIADMK split nor is there anything indicative of an extraordinary advantage for the BJP, independently or in the company of the AIADMK, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
"We got a lot of confidence from our success in Bihar, and we will continue that momentum," Owaisi told reporters after their meeting in Lucknow.
More than 30 entities, including brokers and high net worth individuals, have come under the scanner of market watchdog Sebi for unusual trading activities on the day of Lok Sabha election results.
The LJP will also be given a Rajya Sabha berth and Paswan is likely to be its candidate.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra appears to have shed the maximum sweat among top leaders for over the last 45 days in the seven-phase Uttar Pradesh assembly elections campaign.
'It must be kept in mind that the LJP has never been a fan of Nitish Kumar's style of politics. He has harmed the Dalits by creating a sub-group of Mahadalits for his own political gains'
As the debate on possible ruling dispensation at the Centre after the Lok Sabha elections gathers momentum, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh feels that extending outside support in a coalition set up is "impractical, utopian and unworkable".
Addressing his first election rally in poll-bound Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday paid tributes to the soldiers from the state who had made the supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley clash and the Pulwama attack.
Shah along with other senior party leaders felicitated Modi for the party's performance in the five state assembly polls.
Parliamentarians and legislators across the country voted on Monday to elect India's 15th president, choosing between opposition pick Yashwant Sinha and National Democratic Alliance nominee Droupadi Murmu who is favoured to win the battle to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
