Prashant Kishor's Take on Lok Sabha Prediction Discrepancy

Renowned political strategist Prashant Kishor, known for his accurate election predictions, recently faced a situation where his forecast for the Lok Sabha elections was proven wrong. In a candid response, Kishor acknowledged the discrepancy in his prediction and expressed his willingness to learn from the experience.

The incident dates back to when Kishor had forecasted a specific outcome for the Lok Sabha elections. The Lok Sabha election results turned out to be opposite to the exit poll projections that had predicted a landslide win for the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The BJP's seat tally dropped to 240, lower than the previous election. This led to speculation and analysis within political circles. Kishor, known for his meticulous data-driven approach, maintained transparency by openly acknowledging the variance in his projection.

Later in interviews, Kishor declared that he would not get into predicting seats won in the elections in the future. The poll strategist, whose team advised BJP to its victory in the 2014 general elections, 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 percent. We were saying BJP would get somewhere close to 300 and they got 240,” he said, while asserting that he did mention there was a little anger but no widespread discontent against Modi. Despite the deviation from his forecast, Kishor remains undeterred and committed to refining his methodologies. He emphasized the dynamic nature of politics and the importance of continuous adaptation in the face of evolving circumstances.