WAT Topic for MBA: Pre election opinion polls should be banned before General Elections 2014

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WAT Topic for MBA: Pre election opinion polls should be banned before General Elections 2014

General elections in the largest democracy of the world are supposed to be held sometime mid 2014. Although notification is yet to come, the mood and swings in various opinion polls exhibited on digital media predict fractured mandate after the elections. There are pointers in every day cozy media discussions that it may not be a smooth exercise for any political party to gain clear majority in next Lok Sabha and form the government. Thus, we get predictions without any concrete ground giving a gloomy picture of future, even before we make up our mind to cast the vote. Such opinions could be dangerous for our political system and may need to be banned.
Exit polls which are like the pre election opinions were banned in the year 2009. Many national and regional political parties have demanded total ban on pre election opinion polls from the date of announcement of elections. Election commission of India also wrote to the Law Ministry in July 2013 seeking restrictions on publishing opinion poll results. As of now the opinion Polls are banned from conducting and publishing their results forty eight hours ahead of the commencement of polling.

Necessity to impose the ban
Elections in India are conducted in various states simultaneously on very close dates and the opinion polls can impact the decision of voters. Besides, elections are often conducted in several phases for one single state. This also means that opinion polls about one phase can influence later phases

These polls are farce as they lack credibility and are manipulated by vested interests or certain political parties to swing public opinion in their favor. The results of such opinion polls influence the voters to change their minds.
Power and pelf can play a major role in formation of opinion polls and it may influence the democratic process of election. Such opinions are formed by contacting the limited and selective voters and can therefore be termed as biased. They are neither scientific nor there is any transparent process in their conduct.

Election commissioner is also of the view that many of the opinion polls as well as publishing of their results may be deceptive. The commission is in a dilemma over the issue of pre-poll opinion surveys in the worlds largest democracy.

Sri Lanka, South Korea, Mexico and Russia have limitations on the publication of opinion poll results. Sixteen countries in European Union have also banned reporting of opinion polls.
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Opinions have merit also
Opinion polls may or may not provide accurate forecasts of elections but it is their informative role that is more important. They are manifestation of free speech, an ingredient of democratic system. There was a time when no digital media was present. Voters were not aware about the credentials of their representatives. Opinion polls have become the catalyst in understanding the abilities of the candidates.

The common man can express his views through media only while political parties have their say on all platforms. Besides, different political parties view opinion polls differently at different times, according to the results being forecast. Whoever finds the unfavorable results oppose the opinion polls.

It is also not possible to prevent people from predicting who will win or lose. If a person shares the idea with his friends and relatives about such possibilities, it also amounts to opinion poll. Although methodology of conducting the opinion polls by different institutions may be different and may focus on different aspects of opinions, these polls also help to educate the voters suitably.

Conclusion
There are varying views from different sections of society, political analysts and political parties on imposing such ban. Although five national parties and 10 state parties except BJP have endorsed the ban, casting influence through opinion polls is questioning the matured mind of the electorate. It will therefore be much better that polls are published transparently for all to analyse.
If political parties have this freedom, the voters who are supposed to decide the future of the state and country should not be deprived of it.

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