TMC leader Saketh Gokhale writes to SEBI over potential stock market manipulation through exit polls

Exit polls on June 1st had by and large predicted a victory for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the range of 350-400 seats. The results on June 4th however positioned the NDA at 293 seats. Opposition leaders have now alleged that a potential stock market manipulation could have been the motive for the error. “Investors made massive profits on 03.06.2024 after the markets rose on the back of exit poll results. However, on 04.06.2024, investors suffered losses of over 31 lakh crore Le. 31 trillion. In the interest of protection of investors, it is important to determine if the India Today Axis MyIndia exit polls were rigged or intentionally skewed in favour of the BJP-led NDA which led to the unprecedented rally in the markets on 3rd June,” Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Saketh Gookhale stated in a letter to the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). 

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Exit polls are prone to error however the opposition leaders have raised alarms over the range of error especially in states like Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. “The Axis-MyIndia poll predicted inflated results for the BJP in states like West Bengal where it was claimed that BJP would bag 26-31 seats whereas the results show the BJP winning only 12 seats (a discrepancy of a whopping 116 158%). A margin of error can be expected in the range of even 10-15% but a discrepancy of 116-158% is unfathomable. Moreover, it has been noticed that such glaring discrepancy between predictions and results was seen not only in West Bengal but also in several other states,” Saketh added.