NDA and the winner’s curse: Tough times ahead
Deccan ChronicleThe exit polls would have us believe that the National Democratic Alliance will win 65 per cent of Lok Sabha seats. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh can make available a minimum pool of eight seats and a maximum of 25 seats, which would push the NDA across the 272 lakshman rekha of victory and well beyond, at the higher seat estimate of the YSRC. The big states, comprising around 40 per cent of the total seats — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka — are bucking that assumption. Conversely, with 11 of the 27 bellweather seats listed in “The Verdict” slated to go to the BJP — West Delhi, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Chandigarh, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Bhiwani Mahendragarh, North West Delhi, Varanasi and Mandi — their role as good predictors seems validated.