New Delhi: As the Election Commission announced the poll dates for Maharashtra and Jharkhand, a stern message was delivered to the media regarding the perils of exit poll predictions. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, acknowledging the gap between expectations fueled by exit polls and the actual election outcomes, urged media outlets to exercise greater caution and responsibility while predicting the poll result.
He highlighted the potential for frustration when the predicted trends fail to materialise, urging the media to focus on the specifics of exit polls – the sample size, the regions covered, and the methodology employed.
“We don’t govern exit polls – but there is a need to introspect – what was the sample size etc. There are bodies that self-regulate. Time has come that the concerned bodies will do some self-regulation,” Kumar said in response to the question about the exit polls.
Kumar also addressed the controversy surrounding the announcement of election trends during the Haryana counting process. The Congress, which was initially ahead in the early trends, experienced a drastic drop in its final tally, prompting accusations of manipulation and questioning the timing of the trend announcements.
“It is not as if the trends exist to justify the exit polls,” Kumar stated, emphasising that the trends are merely a reflection of the counting process and should not be interpreted as a validation of exit poll predictions.
Kumar clarified that the official trend updates are released every two hours, starting at 9:30 AM, with the counting process beginning at 8:30 AM. He explained that there is a natural delay in reflecting these results on the official website and that the information provided at the counting booths would be the most current.
“Results start coming around 8:05 or 8:10 in the morning – this is nonsense,” he said. “The counting begins at 8:30 – we put out counting results every 2 hours starting 9:30 am. It takes another half-hour for it to reflect on the official site. Now people at the counting booth will get the current figure,” he added, explaining the mismatch
