'Ready to eat humble pie': Prashant Kishor on getting poll predictions wrong

Poll strategist Prashant Kishor has acknowledged that his predictions for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were incorrect, stating that he is "ready to eat the 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," Prashant Kishor said in his first interview with India Today TV after the Lok Sabha election results.

Ahead of the announcement of Lok Sabha election results on June 4, Kishor had predicted that the BJP would repeat its 2019 election performance and secure around 300 seats. He even took a swipe at his "detractors," advising them to "stay hydrated" and "keep plenty of water handy on June 4."

However, his predictions went awry as the BJP managed to secure only 240 Lok Sabha seats, 20 percent fewer than it won in the 2019 elections. The BJP was able to form a majority government thanks to its NDA allies, who helped push the coalition's tally past the critical threshold of 272 seats.
When asked whether he would continue predicting numbers in future elections in the country, Prashant Kishor responded, "No, I would not get into the number of seats in elections anymore."

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