A day after exit polls predicted a BJP-led government in Assam, the party’s chief ministerial candidate Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday said the exit polls only reflected the wishes of the people and that BJP and its allies are going to form the next government in the state.

Addressing a press conference, Sonowal also predicted that the BJP is going to win over 84 seats in Assam.

“The people have voted for a change. I am sure the voters in Assam want a change and they have voted for a change this time,” said Sonowal, the union sports minister.

“The BJP and its allies will achieve its mission. We believe that the people of Assam have given a decisive mandate in favour of the BJP and we are going to fulfill their expectations,” Sonowal said.

The ruling Congress on the other hand said that exit polls have gone terribly wrong in the New Delhi and Bihar elections and that such polls are tactics used by the BJP to influence officials engaged in the counting of votes on May 19.

The Congress urged people not to believe in the exit polls. “There is no truth behind these exit polls. There were many exit polls after the elections in the Delhi and Bihar assembly polls. However, all of them were proved to be wrong. The same is going to happen here,” said Apruba Bhattacharya, senior spokesman of the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC).

“We are confident that the people of Assam have voted for the Congress considering the development the party has brought to Assam since 2001. The Congress and its allies are going to form the government,” he said.

“The BJP is trying to influence the officials engaged in the counting process by announcing these kinds of exit polls. The BJP knows that the Congress is coming back to power in Assam again and so they have taken to this tactic to influence the counting process in their favour,” said Bhattacharya.