Political strategist Prashant Kishor broke his silence following the Lok Sabha election results, admitting to inaccuracies in his pre-poll assessment and pledging to refrain from making seat predictions in the future.
In an interview Kishor, known for his involvement in various political campaigns, including those of the BJP in 2014, YSRCP in 2019, and Trinamool Congress in 2021, they conceded errors in his predictions for key states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and West Bengal. These miscalculations notably impacted the BJP’s performance compared to its 2019 tally.
“Yes, I and other pollsters misjudged the situation. We are prepared to accept our mistake,” Kishor remarked.
Initially forecasting around 300 seats for the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, the party ultimately secured 240 out of 543 seats, falling short of a majority by 32 seats.
When questioned about his future role in predicting election outcomes, Kishor firmly stated, “No, I will refrain from offering seat predictions in future elections.”
Reflecting on the discrepancies in his assessment, Kishor elaborated, “I must admit on camera that my estimation was off by a significant 20 per cent. While we anticipated the BJP to secure close to 300 seats, they ended up with 240. However, I had previously highlighted minimal dissent against Narendra Modi and a lack of significant opposition momentum, resulting in a status quo with some regional variations in the east and south. Though our numerical prediction was inaccurate, the broader analysis still holds to some extent. The BJP garnered a 36 percent vote share, which is consistent with the status quo, albeit with a slight decrease of 0.7 percent.”
