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Journalism of Courage
Whoever said that the 13th general election has not thrown up any issues? Debate on whether the results of opinion and exit polls can be disseminated during the month-long hiatus between the first and last phase of polling is fast turning into yet another confrontation between the BJP and the Congress. And as befits a fatigued electoral campaign, much is being read into the direction in which each of their allies is swaying on the subject.
Clearly, two issues are involved here. Firs-tly, is the Election Commission empowered to issue directions on the publication or telecast of political advertisements and such surveys? Secondly, does such an order infringe on the right to information and freedom of expression?
Long gone are those good old days when candidates would put away their loudspeakers, bid a temporary adieu to their party workers and dutifully retire home at 5 pm two days before polling to give the electorate enough time for sober contemplation. These days, the campaign procession may not exactly come knocking on the citizen8217;s doors during those last hours before the day of reckoning, but political parties have many other avenues to catch his attention: bulkier newspapers, glossier magazines and 24-hour channels.
In a general election haltingly staggered over a whole month, am-idst this non-stop chatter and trading of charges and counter-charges, it is doubtful whether the result of an opinion poll can decisively change a voter8217;s mind. And if it can, then why wouldn8217;t he in any case have been convinced by thepolls publi-shed a few weeks before? And if he is really so gullible, then what about the power of rumour?
What the Election Commission and the pollster and those who think opinion polls hinder freedom of choice discount is the fact that exit polls and surveys only offer possible trends, not a clear indication of actual results. Even a cursory glance at the various, and hugely differing, instalments offered in recent elections would bear this out. More importantly, they needn8217;t always be correct.
To cite just one example, practically every opinion and every exit poll got the Tamil Nadu results in the 1998 general election drastically wrong. Surveys are just a part of the colour and entertainment that animate Indian elections, and that is how they should be treated.
