Bihar #ExitPolls: It’s a free for all on Twitter too

With the exit polls pointing at all possible outcomes for the bitterly-contested Bihar elections, the fight on Twitter mirrored the war of words that was witnessed among leaders of various political parties in the last two months.

With the exit polls pointing at all possible outcomes for the bitterly-contested Bihar elections, the fight on Twitter mirrored the war of words that was witnessed among leaders of various political parties in the last two months.

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) waves the party flag during an election campaign rally addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi (not pictured) in Banka. (Reuters Photo)

Three exit polls -- NewsX-CNX, ABP-Nielsen and News Nation -- predicted chief minister Nitish Kumar could get a majority by a slender margin. Times Now- C Voter said a photo finish was likely with an edge for the Kumar-led Grand Alliance. India Today-Cicero forecast a BJP lead in the exit poll.

Only News 24-Today’s Chanakya – which came closest to predicting the outcome of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections – said the BJP-led coalition was headed for a comfortable victory with 155 seats.

On Twitter, people fought with hastags like #ExitPoll, #BiharDumpsModi, #BJPGoToPakistan and #BJPStayInIndia. Some criticised the methodology of those who came up with the exit polls, others pronounced the exit polls to be partisan and yet others adopted a wait and watch policy.

Some pointed out the cliffhanger that they had been led to:

Some even dismissed the outcomes predicted by various agencies and television channels.

Some turned stoic and spewed Shakespeare to diss them:

Some were, as usual, utterly sarcastic:

This war of words on the social media platform had an added flavour with those from across the border reacting to hashtags #BJPGoToPakistan.