Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar speaks during a press conference for the announcement of the schedule of elections to the Legislative Assemblies of Jharkhand and Maharashtra, in New Delhi, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. The Maharashtra elections will be held on November 20, while Jharkhand elections will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20; the results for both states will be declared on November 23.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Tuesday questioned the practice of news channels showing early trends on counting day, calling it "nonsense" and wondered whether it was an exercise to justify their exit polls that might have got the results wrong.
His remarks in response to a question on exit polls of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir going awry came during a press conference to announce the schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand Assembly elections. Kumar urged the media to introspect on its practices, including exit polls that raise expectations that may not match the actual outcome and harm the process.
In Haryana elections, exit polls predictions had given Congress an easy win but the BJP won it convincingly. In Jammu and Kashmir, most of the predictions suggested a hung assembly but the National Conference-Congress-CPI(M) alliance won the majority comfortably. Almost all exit polls also got it wrong during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Emphasising that the EC does not govern exit polls that "create a huge distraction by raising expectations", he said media bodies like the News Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority should do some self-regulation.
"What was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come and what is my responsibility if it did not match to that result, are there disclosures – all of these need to be seen," Kumar said adding that there was nothing in public domain.
Referring to news channels flashing early trends as soon as the counting of votes starts at 8 am, he said media houses start showing results from 8:05 am or 8:10 am but "this is nonsense. My counting starts at 8:30 am. How are channels showing the lead before that". He asked whether the initial trends shown in the media are to justify exit polls.
Counting happens roughly on the third day after the elections end and expectations rise at the close of polls at 6 pm with exit polls but there is no scientific basis to this in public disclosure, he said.
He said the EC starts putting trends only at 9:30 am after the first round of counting is over followed by updates every two hours.
A correspondent of a media organisation can get results early, but the poll authority has to display the result on the screen, get the polling agents to sign it, and offer justification to observers and it may take 30 minutes for the results to come on the official website, he said.
"When the actual results start coming in, there is a mismatch. That mismatch can lead to serious issues sometimes. The gap between expectations and achievements is nothing but frustration," he added.
After Haryana outcome was known, Congress said the results were "unacceptable" to them and alleged poll manipulation through Electronic Voting Machines while referring to exit polls.