Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday slammed the pre-poll surveys and opinion polls saying they were far from the ground reality and conducted with an aim to support the BJP and Congress.
The Chief Minister said people would reject these surveys as they have done in the past. “In today’s situation, several means are being employed for campaigning. Efforts are being made to buy out a section of media, especially by the BJP and also by the Congress. Huge money is changing hand to influence the voters,” he alleged.
The Chief Minister’s reaction came in the wake of a couple of surveys conducted by news channels, predicting a huge victory for the UDF and also giving a seat to the NDA.
Mr Pinarayi said reports are being circulated on a daily basis with a definite purpose of influencing voters. Those behind such reports are making attempts to push the ground realities under the carpet and paint a different picture altogether. This is how they are trying to influence the voters.
The Chief Minister said the poll surveys in the midst of the election campaign are being conducted with the same objective. These surveys have absolutely nothing to do with what is happening in the state or in the country. “The surveys are aimed at giving a push to the campaign of certain political parties who are otherwise going down. But it is clear that those destined to lose cannot be lifted by such surveys or opinion polls,” he said.
The Chief Minister recalled 2004 elections when majority of the people were not ready to give A.B. Vajpayee government another term. When elections came, the people of Kerala stood with the national mood but in a different way. The voters in Kerala said loudly that if Vajpayee is to be kept out then we have to stand with the LDF. As a result LDF secured 18 of the 20 seats.
The Chief Minister exuded confidence that in the coming elections the LDF would perform even better.
