Most political parties suddenly want the opinion polls on election outcomes to be pulled off. By insisting on such an option, the concerned parties seem to have lost the plot, according to me. The fact is that the polls do not make much impact in the thinking process of anyone as the ultimate choice of action has already been arrived at. I mean, you don't expect me to vote for a person - whom I do not support - just because the opinion polls shout out that he or she's gonna be the outright winner, do you? It's as simple as that!
The apologists go a step further. They say that the majority of the people are not knowledgeable, behave like a mob and therefore, get swayed by external forces and change their opinions(by doing so they seem to be questioning the people's ability to have opinions on any issue, whatsoever!) at the drop of a hat. Nothing could be further than the truth as the Indian people - be it the urban population or the rural masses - have time and again shown that they've an opinion of their own and taken appropriate decisions!
I've always had my own queries on opinion polls for the following reasons:-
(a) the agency that conducts the opinion polls must be impartial beyond doubt. Otherwise, findings can be
twisted to suit its thinking on the possible outcome!
(b) the sample size is a critical factor because many psephologists have bitten the dust in the past with
predictions that were wholly out of sync with that of the population that was quizzed.
(c) do we have the tendency to give wrong inputs to chuckle with glee at the end, to have misled the
opinion polls which turns out to be way off the mark vis-a-vis the final outcome?
But the polls really give ample impetus in the run up to the elections. They give the necessary 'masala' and generate interest in people to follow them. And what about the legal angle of our 'right to freedom of speech' as assured by the constitution? The election commission has a tricky problem to solve.
Tailpiece.
Had compered a function in the evening. Initially, I'd begun with butterflies in my stomach cursing the chief organiser for having zeroed in on me for the honour(or dishonour, if things fell flat?). But surprisingly, I found that the audience lapped up my PJs raising my confidence levels. Were they being nice to me, I wonder and no, I won't be able to tell you as to how I was because it's beyond my purview!
The apologists go a step further. They say that the majority of the people are not knowledgeable, behave like a mob and therefore, get swayed by external forces and change their opinions(by doing so they seem to be questioning the people's ability to have opinions on any issue, whatsoever!) at the drop of a hat. Nothing could be further than the truth as the Indian people - be it the urban population or the rural masses - have time and again shown that they've an opinion of their own and taken appropriate decisions!
I've always had my own queries on opinion polls for the following reasons:-
(a) the agency that conducts the opinion polls must be impartial beyond doubt. Otherwise, findings can be
twisted to suit its thinking on the possible outcome!
(b) the sample size is a critical factor because many psephologists have bitten the dust in the past with
predictions that were wholly out of sync with that of the population that was quizzed.
(c) do we have the tendency to give wrong inputs to chuckle with glee at the end, to have misled the
opinion polls which turns out to be way off the mark vis-a-vis the final outcome?
But the polls really give ample impetus in the run up to the elections. They give the necessary 'masala' and generate interest in people to follow them. And what about the legal angle of our 'right to freedom of speech' as assured by the constitution? The election commission has a tricky problem to solve.
Tailpiece.
Had compered a function in the evening. Initially, I'd begun with butterflies in my stomach cursing the chief organiser for having zeroed in on me for the honour(or dishonour, if things fell flat?). But surprisingly, I found that the audience lapped up my PJs raising my confidence levels. Were they being nice to me, I wonder and no, I won't be able to tell you as to how I was because it's beyond my purview!
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