<div><em>A section of the media too, was supposed to have been hand-in- glove with the political parties, writes <strong>D.P.Sharan</strong></em></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Setting all speculation to rest, the startling result of Bihar Assembly Elections has put a major question mark not only on the impeccable credentials of the PM-led NDA stalwarts who were routed, but on the mechanisms that have been developed in the recent past to hold opinion and exit polls. Agencies that claimed to have conducted detailed surveys for opinion and exit polls are believed to have suffered a major loss of face after the outcome of the Bihar elections and a veiled stench of their tacit-deals with political parties in the fray for some fat gains cannot be ignored. Significantly, a section of the media too, was supposed to have been hand-in- glove with the political parties.</div><div> </div><div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="width: 200px"><tbody><tr><td><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/DP_Sharan.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 214px; margin: 1px;"></td></tr><tr><td><strong>D.P. Sharan</strong></td></tr></tbody></table>The way opinion and exit polls were projected by different agencies and the media -- in a clear contrast to the ground realities -- before the result of the Bihar elections opens the doors to casting aspersions on the integrity of the poll-survey agencies and a section of the media as well. Interestingly, while one prominent news channel came out with opinion poll figure of 155 seats for the NDA soon after the announcement of the elections by the Election Commission presumably to enjoy favours from the party at the Centre, another national channel was quick to declare the BJP and allies winner even on the morning of the counting day. The channel that came out with the opinion poll, stuck to its figure of 155 till the counting of polls and had the opportunity to substantiate it with the same exit poll figures announced by a high-profile pollster for the NDA later.</div><div> </div><div>Incidentally, the past bears testimony to the fact that results of the Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Delhi and Jharkhand had dealt a major blow to the credentials of this high-profile poll-survey agency. The tallies predicted by this agency did not match with the final outcome in the states. Indeed, it had gained a major face-lift in the Lok Sabha elections when it had predicted over 300 seats for NDA that turned out to be true.</div><div> </div><div>It is believed that news channels have business interests in Bihar and were convinced of a pro-NDA wave and lent implicit support to it whereas the exit-poll survey conducted by the high-profile agency was apparently sponsored by some corporate houses in favour of the ruling party at the Centre for obvious reasons.</div><div> </div><div>Although agencies and media engaged in exit poll surveys in particular have enough reasons to claim immunity from the charges of working in tandem with political parties for gains, their modus operandi remains questionable. They claim that the exit polls are made public after the polling and before the election-result and are not supposed to influence the voters as such, but they are presumably bound to take care of wishes of political parties or corporate houses that hire or sponsor them for the purpose. They work throughout the campaigning in league with news channels to promote the cause of particular political parties by whom they are paid.</div><div>Unfortunately, in the alleged nexus between pollsters and media, people in general and political parties in particular are cheated the most. If people have been victims of misleading reports by news channels about the elections, sponsors of the pollsters were kept in the dark while depending on the opinion and exit polls outcome. </div><div> </div><div>Interestingly, while the major pollsters came out with unrealistic figures by saying their reports were sample surveys, there were some survey agencies that maintained a low key but predicted figures that matched the final tally of seats won by different political forces in the fray.</div><div> </div><div>However, one of the major survey agencies has tendered an apology for its assessment of the election result. News channels that brazenly supported the NDA in the elections much against journalist ethics, not only preferred to feign ignorance over what they did in the past but started exercising rapprochement measures by claiming how they called Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav even during the elections and how the two leaders shared their poll strategies.</div><div> </div><div>Agencies and news channels that claimed to have read the pulse of the elections in their respective exit polls include News24-Today’s Chanakya, Axis-CBB IBN, NewsX/CNX, ABP/Nielsen, News Nation, Times Now/ CVoter, India Today and NDTV. However, the high-profile pollster Today’s Chanakya had given 155 seats to NDA and reputed media houses such as India Today, Zee News and NDTV had predicted 120 seats -- three short of a simple majority – 155 seats and 125 seats to the NDA, respectively.</div><div> </div><div>But the end-result; major humiliation on the part of pollsters and media that lost their hard earned reputation and stood condemned in the eyes of the people and that too, to gain some pecuniary benefits as NDA had only 58 seats and Grand Alliance of non-NDA forces bagged a magnificent 178 seats to retain power in Bihar. <br><br><em>The author, D.P. Sharan, is journalist by profession for the past 30 years and has served many national dailies, magazines and channels. He has also been a member at the Central Board of Film Certification , Mumbai under Information & Broadcasting Ministry, Government of India</em></div><div> </div>
