A look back at 2019 AP Exit Polls

People and political parties of Andhra Pradesh eagerly await as the exit polls will be released shortly. In accordance with the guidelines of the election commission the exit polls were withheld until the conclusion of the seventh and last phase of the general elections today. The exit polls will be out in less than two hours from now as the polling in the last phase will come to an end at 5.30. pm. 

As the pollsters are set to reveal their cards for the current elections, let’s go back to 2019 and see what did the exit polls predict and how close they were to the official poll results. 

According to various exit poll projections for the 2019 Andhra Pradesh assembly elections, the predictions for the performance of TDP and YSRCP varied widely. India Today projected the TDP to win between 37 to 40 seats, while forecasting the YSRCP to secure a significant lead with 130 to 135 seats.

On the other hand, INSS Media gave a more favorable projection for the TDP, estimating 118 seats for the party, and only 52 seats for the YSRCP. However, People's Pulse exit poll had a contrasting outlook, predicting 59 seats for the TDP and a higher tally of 112 seats for the YSRCP.
Similarly, CPS projected a range of 37 to 40 seats for the TDP, while indicating that the YSRCP could potentially secure 133 to 135 seats.

The pollsters showed significant variations in the exit poll predictions for the parliamentary seats in Andhra Pradesh. Times Now-VMR projected YSRCP to win 18 seats, while TDP was predicted to secure 7 seats. India Today Axis gave a similar estimate, forecasting 18-20 seats for the YSRCP and only 2-6 seats for the TDP.

CNN News 18, however, projected YSRCP to win 13-14 seats and TDP to secure 10-12 seats. Today's Chanakya's predictions were widely off the mark, with their exit poll giving the YSRCP only 8 seats and a significant 17 seats for the TDP. Republic-C Voter's exit poll predicted YSRCP to win 11 seats and TDP to secure 14 seats. 

The 2019 AP exit polls failed to capture the true pulse of the voters as the official poll results showed that the YSRCP secured 151 assembly seats and 22 parliamentary seats while the TDP was confined to 23 MLA seats. 

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