Political parties divided over ban on opinion polls

If the BJP and the DMDK are all for opinion polls, the Congress is against the practice, which it feels could prejudice the election outcome.

The two Left parties — the CPI and the CPI(M) — and the DMK, are all right with opinion polls as long as there are certain restrictions. Instead of espousing a blanket ban, these parties want transparency, a set of guidelines and procedures for conducting such polls.

A discussion on, “Do opinion polls inform or mislead voters?”, organised by The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, saw Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) presidium chairman Panruti S. Ramachandran saying the essence of democracy was to enable a voter to make an informed choice.

Opinion polls, he said, need not necessarily affect the outcome of the election results. “Elections are fought on defining issues and the outcome of the elections depends on so many factors and not merely on opinion polls,” Ramachandran said.

The positive aspect of opinion polls was that they indicated a trend and made political parties plan ahead while also keeping their house in order.

H. Raja, BJP vice-president, said banning opinion polls was a retrograde step as the argument that they influence voters had no basis.

He pointed to the 1977 general elections when the Congress drew a blank even though the entire propaganda mechanism was vested with the government at the Centre.

TNCC president B.S. Gnanadesikan said opinions polls were not justified as they influenced the outcome of the elections. “The aim of the Election Commission was to provide a level playing field and if advantage is given to a political party, others will be affected,” he said.

Some restrictions

Gnanadesikan argued that opinion polls were harmful as they were conducted by agencies assigned by media houses, which, barring a few exceptions, were controlled by political parties.

“Thus, they try to manipulate the election results,” he alleged.

DMK MP T.K.S. Elangovan said the ban should be there at least from the day when the model code of conduct came into force. “The opinion polls can have an impact on undecided voters,” he said.

CPI(M) state secretary G. Ramakrishnan said his party had already written to the Election Commission on the issue and favoured a ban for a reasonable period of time.

“Every thing should be transparent. Who is funding the survey? Who is the media partner? Nothing should be hidden from the people,” he said.

CPI state secretary D. Pandian wondered whether there was any mechanism to study the mind of so many people and stressed that subjecting a voter to assessment would mean subjecting him to prejudice.

“It is nothing but trading on the mind of the people and will lead to political prognosis,” he said.

N. Ram, Chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd, moderated the discussion.

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