West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has strongly criticized the exit poll projections that showed the BJP making major gains in the state at the cost of her Trinamool Congress party. Banerjee alleged that these exit polls were "manufactured at home" around two months ago and have "no value".

"We had seen how the exit polls were conducted in 2016, 2019 and 2021. None of the predictions had turned out to be true," Banerjee told a Bengali news channel on Sunday. She questioned why certain media outlets gave prominence to "such exit polls".

Most exit polls predicted that the BJP would outperform the Trinamool Congress and potentially win the highest number of seats from West Bengal in these Lok Sabha elections.

However, the feisty TMC supremo brushed off these forecasts as inconsistent with the ground reality. "These exit polls were manufactured at home by some people two months back for the media consumption. They have no value," she claimed.

Banerjee asserted that the huge crowds at her election rallies did not reflect the trends shown in the exit polls. She also alleged that the BJP had indulged in polarizing the electorate and spreading misinformation that Muslims were cornering the quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

"I don't think Muslims will vote for BJP. And, I think the CPI(M) and Congress helped the BJP in West Bengal," Banerjee said, suggesting that minority voters could have consolidated behind her party.

The credibility of exit poll results has often been questioned in India, including by political parties that have disagreed with the projections. The actual outcome in West Bengal and other states will be known on May 23rd when the votes are counted.