– Khan Tahir
2 June 2024: On June 1, after the last phase of voting concluded, different companies’ exit polls started being shown on every news channel. However, the accuracy of these exit polls will only be known once the results come out on June 4.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha election exit polls, Republic (P-Marq) has given NDA 359 seats, INDIA alliance 154 seats, and others 30 seats.
‘India Today-Axis my India’ has given NDA 361 to 401 seats, INDIA alliance 131 to 166 seats, and others 8 to 20 seats.
‘ABP-CVoter’ has given NDA 353 to 383 seats, INDIA alliance 152 to 182 seats, and others 4 to 11 seats.
‘Today’s Chanakya’ has given NDA 400 seats, INDIA alliance 107 seats, and others 36 seats.
In the Lok Sabha elections, there are 543 seats. How accurate is it to determine the winner of some seats by talking to a few people there? How correct or incorrect is it to apply the opinions of some people from a few seats to all 543 seats? I won’t tell you; you should decide for yourself.
Whether or not these exit polls have any impact, they certainly help maintain each channel’s TRP (Television Rating Points). Typically, Zee News’s viewers watch Zee News, and NDTV’s viewers watch NDTV. However, this is perhaps the only topic where everyone wants to know which party each channel is predicting to win and by how many votes. As a result, people end up watching every channel one by one.
This trend continues from the end of the last phase of voting until the results are announced. If a news channel’s exit poll prediction turns out to be correct and the party it predicted to win actually forms the government, the channel celebrates like a student who, after spending the whole night on Instagram and YouTube, guesses the answers in an MCQ exam and scores well.
Whether the BJP or the INDIA alliance wins in India, Muslims need to understand that neither will bring significant development for them. If we examine the manifesto of the largest party in the INDIA alliance, the Congress, there isn’t a single promise made for Muslims. In the entire 48-page manifesto, the word “Muslim” is not mentioned even once.
ALSO READ: The Persistent Bias in Indian Exit Polls: Challenges and Consequences
In this digital media era, where the INDIA alliance has not yet decided who will be the Prime Minister if they form the government, some YouTubers have already concluded that Rahul Gandhi will be the next Prime Minister on June 4, and that Narendra Modi will be returning home.
Instead of wasting time watching exit polls from June 1 to June 4, it would be better that you pray to Allah
اللَّهُمَّ لَا تُسَلِّطْ عَلَيْنَا مَنْ لَا يَرْحَمُنَا
Translation: O Allah, do not give power over us to those who will not have mercy on us.
(Sunan al-Tirmidhi 3502)
Or, if you must waste time watching exit polls, watch the exit poll of the channel that is predicting a win for your favorite party. At the very least, you will get two to three days of happiness, if not five years.
