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Friday, Apr 14, 2006

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National

Congress: survey contrary to reality

Special Correspondent

Party questions methodology in Kerala

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday said The Hindu-CNN-IBN pre-poll survey for Kerala was "contrary to ground reality" and questioned the methodology adopted.

Reacting to the survey, which said the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) was headed for a big victory in the Assembly elections, the Congress attributed its poor result in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls to a division between the votes of the mainstream Congress and the Karunakaran faction.

"This situation has been sorted out with the alliance of the Congress with the Karunakaran faction," party secretary Tom Vadakkan said in a statement. The effect of the new alliance could be seen only closer to the election and surveys conducted prior to it would throw up "misleading" results.

The survey, he said, admitted that the lead percentage between the United Democratic Front and the LDF had been extremely narrow since 1977, and no ostensible reason was given for the "so-called huge lead" for the LDF. There was no major national or State-level issue identified which could swing Kerala towards the LDF.

"We have seen that poll surveys have become totally unreliable, especially when conducted with a very low number of electors... in any case, surveys have been notoriously inaccurate when making predictions about Kerala."

Most polling organisations used the same methodology, which, in a State like Kerala, where caste ceased to be a deciding factor, gave "skewed and false results," Mr. Vadakkan said.

Politically motivated: Chennithala

Our Kollam Staff Reporter reports:

Pradesh Congress Committee president Ramesh Chennithala termed the survey findings nothing but a politically motivated exercise.

Addressing a press conference at Kollam, he said the UDF took the findings as a challenge.

"We have 2.5 crore voters, therefore a mere 4,377 voters from 46 constituencies are in no position to pass a verdict on the outcome of the elections.".

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