The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Exit polls

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Tuesday, Apr 06, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Exit polls

Sir, — The Election Commission should adopt some mechanism to deal with opinion and exit polls. They go against the principle of the secret ballot. Moreover, in multi-phase elections such polls can influence the electorate. The Commission should also consider regulating campaigning through SMS and mobile phones.

K. Sundaresan,
New Delhi

* * *

Sir, — It has become customary to conduct pre-poll surveys. Leave alone their correctness, how ethical are such predictions? They could influence the undecided few, confuse the party workers, antagonise or provoke a few, force a few to manipulate between now and the poll date and so on. With so many variables, pre-poll surveys are a foolhardy exercise.

Pasupathy Ramachandran,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — It has been reported that in the absence of voter identity cards, ration cards, driving licence, service certificates from the employer or similar documents will be accepted as proof of identity. Western countries issue citizenship papers to their citizens. It is the basic right of every citizen to be provided with such a document. It is a matter of regret that even after 56 years of independence, no government in India has thought it worthwhile to issue such documents.

C.V.K. Moorthy,
Bangalore

* * *

Sir, — I refer to the hue and cry raised over the spate of film personalities joining politics on the eve of elections. They are also citizens of India and have every right to do what they like. Why single out the film personalities and accuse them of being novices?

V. Ramasubramanian,
Chennai

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