The famous election prognosticator, New York Times’s 'Needle', was projecting an 84 per cent chance of a Donald Trump victory with about 295 electoral college votes based on its data at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday (9 a.m. Wednesday in India).
The 'Needle' swings as the data that comes in is analysed in real-time and makes the projection it considers valid at that time.
A little before 10 p.m., it showed Trump at nearly 290 seats before swinging down five to 285 at 10 p.m. and rising 30 minutes later to 295.
The 'Needle' makes longer-range projections beyond those made by The Associated Press and networks like NBC and Fox News by combining the incoming polling trends with demographic and historical data.
At 10 p.m., the electoral college votes that have been called by the media were 198 for Trump to 112 for Harris.
The New York Times was struggling with its computer systems because its union of technology workers was on strike over pay and working conditions.
The newspaper acknowledged the problem and wrote, “Publishing the ‘Needle’ live on election night relies on computer systems maintained by engineers across the company, including some who are currently on strike”.
“How we display our election forecast will depend on those systems, as well as incoming data feeds, and we will only publish a live version of the ‘Needle’ if we are confident those systems are stable”, it said.
Apparently, it is confident of the system’s ability to handle the projections.
On the eve of the election, the newspaper’s poll had given Harris a 3 per cent lead over Trump.
The RealClear Polling’s aggregation had Trump with a 0.6 per cent lead, which is a virtual tie.
Tripura making significant strides towards rapid development: CM Dr Saha
Tripura Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha today said that the present state government is committed to delivering good governance to all sections of society, with the state making significant strides towards rapid development.
Wanted NSCN (K-YA) cadre held in Assam by security forces
The army and Assam Rifles in coordination with the Assam Police, apprehended a wanted top cadre of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim-Khaplang’s Yung Aung faction (NSCN-K-YA) from the state's Charaideo district, officials said on Monday.
PM Modi condemns Germany market attack, advocates brotherhood at CBCI Christmas event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condemned attempts to incite violence in society, highlighting that the teachings of Jesus Christ promote love, harmony, and brotherhood.
National Awardee film-maker and 'parallel cinema' doyen Shyam Benegal dies at 90
Shyam Sunder S. Benegal, a multiple National Award winner and among the pioneers of ‘parallel cinema’ – with silver screen classics like “Junoon”, “Ankur”, “Manthan”, “Zubeida” and “The Making of the Mahatma” – passed away after a long battle with a kidney disease, his family said here on Monday.
End of no-detention policy: Students failing final exams in Classes 5, 8 will be retained in same grade
The central government has scrapped the "no-detention policy" in schools. In this regard, the Ministry of Education has issued an official Gazette notification.
Former SC judge V. Ramasubramanian appointed as NHRC Chairperson
After being without a regular designated head for over six months, the Centre on Monday cleared the appointment of retired Supreme Court judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Minister Sushanta Chowdhury chairs 15th meeting of state road safety council
The state road and transport minister Sushanta Chowdhury on Monday chaired the 15th meeting of the State Road Safety Council here at Agartala and said that the government is contemplating to ensure zero road accidents through generating more awareness.
Lok Sabha MP Biplab Kumar Deb slams Congress's dynastic politics
Former Tripura Chief Minister and current Lok Sabha MP, Biplab Kumar Deb, on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party's dynastic politics, accusing it of surrendering power to the communists in the state due to family-based succession.