Prashant Kishor Vows Not To Predict Election Result Again; ‘Ready To Eat Humble Pie’

New Delhi: Renowned election strategist Prashant Kishor said on Friday he won’t predict number of seats in elections any more after getting it wrong in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Accepting ‘defeat’, Kishor said he was ready to eat humble pie for the inaccuracies in his pre-poll assessments.

“Yes, I and pollsters like me got it wrong. We are ready to eat the humble pie,” Kishor told India Today TV in his first interview after the election results.

Asked whether he would continue predicting numbers in upcoming elections in India, the pollster said, “No, I would not get into the number of seats in elections any more.”

After the fifth phase of polling on May 20, Kishor had predicted that the BJP will repeat its 2019 performance and win around 300 seats or more.

He had also taken a swipe at “rattled” detractors, advising them to “stay hydrated” and “keep plenty of water handy on June 4,” in a post on X.

Once votes were counted, it turned out that BJP won 240 seats and was in a position to form the government for the third time only with the help of its allies as NDA’s tally was 293.

Known for his acumen at gauging India’s political landscape, Kishor conceded that his projections significantly missed the mark in several key areas.

“I had put my assessment in front of you and I have to admit on camera that the assessment that I did was wrong in terms of numbers by a big 20 per cent. We were saying BJP would get somewhere close to 300 and they got 240. But I had earlier said that there was a little anger, but no widespread discontent against Narendra Modi,” Kishor said.

“I had also said that there was no positive clamour from the opposition and that is why a status quo is being created with some geographical expansion in the east and south. Now, obviously, we have been proved wrong. But if you just go beyond the numbers, it’s not that wrong. Because ultimately, they got 36 per cent vote share, which is status quo — 0.7 per cent down in terms of vote share,” he said.