Odisha Lok Sabha election exit poll results 2019: Today's Chanakya, CVoter, CSDS, IPSOS, Jan Ki Baat, Neta exit poll results today

The polling for all the 543 constituencies spread across seven phases of the Lok Sabha election 2019 will come to an end on Sunday evening. The polling in Odisha took place in 21 constituencies spread across four phases--first (April 11), second (April 18), third (April 23) and fourth (April 29). A total of 774 candidates were in fray for the election in the state.

Zee News will show the "poll of polls" which will include details of all the exit poll surveys released by different pollsters and TV news channels. After polling concludes at 6 pm, various pollsters and news channels - Today's Chanakya, Republic-CVoter, ABP-CSDS, News18-IPSOS, India Today-Axis, Times Now-CNX, NewsX-Neta - will release their exit poll results on the election about the number of seats different parties are likely to win on May 23 when the counting of votes takes place and results are declared.

The exit polls prediction for the political parties and their alliances will start coming in once the Election Commission (EC) lifts the embargo on airing exit polls. However, the EC has notified that the prohibition on exit polls will continue till 6.30 pm on Sunday. The EC had in March issued an advisory to the media saying exit polls can only be telecast after the final phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections ends on May 19. The advisory is also applicable for Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim.

Though the exit poll predictions may not always be true, pollsters claim they give an idea of the emerging political situation. Usually, private pollsters or agencies working for newspapers and broadcasters ask voters to know who they actually voted for and based on their replies, they predict the trends/results. Election predictions based on exit and opinion polls have gained much traction in the past decade with television's reach increasing in India alongside the mushrooming of news portals.

The declaration of election results of Lok Sabha in Odisha is likely to be delayed compared to other states since votes for assembly polls will also have to be counted, a senior election official had informed news agency PTI. Besides, voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) will also have to be counted and that will also take some time, the state Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Surendra Kumar had said. The counting of Lok Sabha votes in Odisha will be held in 7 tables each for the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly, the CEO said adding that declaration of results will take time in Odisha for this reason.