Desk Correspondent , Kolkata - Exit polls for the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections proved largely inaccurate, significantly underestimating the scale of Trinamool Congress's (TMC) victory while overestimating the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) performance. Most polling agencies projected a tight contest or even a slight edge for the BJP in the 294-seat Assembly, where 148 seats were needed for a majority. In reality, TMC secured a landslide with 215 seats, while the BJP managed only 77 seats, emerging as the main opposition but falling far short of expectations.

Major agencies presented divided forecasts that missed the mark. CVoter projected TMC at 158 seats and BJP at 115. Republic-CNX flipped the narrative, giving BJP 143 seats against TMC's 133. India Today-Axis My India indicated a cliffhanger, with TMC between 130-156 seats and BJP 134-160 seats, suggesting either party could form the government. The Left-Congress alliance failed to make a substantial impact as predicted by some trends, adding little to the final tally.

The actual results highlighted the challenges of polling in West Bengal's polarized political landscape, where exit polls underestimated TMC's grassroots support and Mamata Banerjee's appeal. While the BJP improved dramatically from its 2016 performance of just three seats, the gap between projections and outcomes underscored that exit polls serve as rough indicators rather than precise predictions in fiercely contested regional battles.