'Will shave my head if Modi becomes PM for 3rd time': AAP's Somnath Bharti after exit polls predict NDA win

AAP leader Somnath Bharti on Saturday challenged the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 exit poll predictions, pledging to shave his head if Narendra Modi wins a third term as Prime Minister

Exit polls anticipate a decisive triumph for the BJP and the NDA, with a majority of them forecasting the alliance securing over 350 Lok Sabha seats. However, AAP's Somnath Bharti strongly opposes these predictions. As the MLA and the candidate for the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat under the INDIA alliance, he asserts that all exit polls will be proven incorrect on Tuesday, when the votes are tallied. In a bold statement, he pledges to shave his head if Narendra Modi is re-elected as Prime Minister for the third term.

While most exit polls indicate the BJP winning at least six of Delhi's seven seats, mirroring its complete victory in 2019, Mr. Bharti contends otherwise. He maintains that it will be the INDIA alliance, comprising AAP contesting four seats and the Congress three, that will sweep Delhi this time, securing victory in all seven constituencies.

"I will shave off my head if Mr Modi becomes PM for the third time. Mark my word! All exit polls will be proven wrong on 4th June and Modi ji will not become prime minister for the third time. In Delhi, all seven seats will go to India ALLIANCE," Bharti posted on X.

The AAP leader is competing against Bansuri Swaraj of the BJP in the New Delhi constituency. Swaraj, daughter of the late Union Minister Sushma Swaraj, is stepping into electoral politics for the first time.

Urging people to wait for the counting to happen, he wrote, "Fear of Mr Modi does not allow exit polls to show him loose (sic). Hence we all need to wait for actual results scheduled to be delivered on June 4th. People have voted very heavily against @BJP4India."

According to the News Nation poll, the NDA is projected to secure victories in 342-378 constituencies, while the INDIA alliance is estimated to win between 153 and 169 seats. Conversely, Jan Ki Baat's findings suggest a wider margin, with the ruling coalition expected to clinch 362-392 seats and the opposition securing 141-161 seats.

Republic TV - P MARQ's poll results indicate a victory for the NDA with 358 seats, while the INDIA alliance is projected to secure 154 seats.

While the BJP has hailed the exit polls as validation of its anticipated victory, emphasizing the public's preference for PM Modi's third consecutive term, several opposition leaders, echoing Bharti's sentiments, have voiced skepticism, highlighting the historical unreliability of exit polls.