New Delhi : Terming the exit polls "bogus", the Congress on Sunday said they were a "deliberate attempt to justify rigging" of the elections and part of "psychological games" being played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lower the morale of the INDIA bloc workers.
Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi dubbed the exit polls as "Modi media poll". "This is not called an exit poll but its name is 'Modi media poll'. This is Modi ji's poll, it is his fantasy poll," Gandhi told reporters at the AICC headquarters here after a meeting with party's Lok Sabha MPs via video conference.
Asked how many seats the INDIA bloc will get, Gandhi said, "Have you heard Sidhu Moose Wala's song '295'? So 295 (seats)."
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also hit out at Prime Minister Modi for holding several meetings, including a long brainstorming session to review the 100-day agenda of the "new government", saying these were "pressure tactics" to send out a signal to the bureaucracy and the administrative structure that he is coming back.
"These are mind games -- 'I am coming back, I am going to be the prime minister again'. He is sending a signal to the bureaucracy, the administrative structure of the country and we hope that the civil servants who have been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuing a fair counting of votes will not be intimidated and not be frightened by these pressure tactics," Ramesh told PTI at the AICC headquarters.
Later, in a post on X, Ramesh said, "Till the very last the outgoing Prime Minister will play mind games. Today his media managers put out news that he has held seven meetings. I'm sure they will project the news of more meetings tomorrow - but by the evening of the 4th, the outgoing Prime Minister would have become the former Prime Minister."
Speaking with PTI, Ramesh also said that the exit polls that came out Saturday evening are "completely bogus" and have been "orchestrated and masterminded by the man whose exit is inevitable and guaranteed on June 4".
