Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Opinion polls shouldn’t be banned' that was published in Newsband

Opinion polls shouldn’t be banned

The Election Commission seeks to ban opinion polls in the run-up to an election. Whether opinion polls influence voting is debatable, but even if they do, that is no reason to ban them. A ban cannot be the solution.

Actually, any ban on opinion polls runs counter to Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution that provides all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression. Of course, this freedom is subject to reasonable restrictions listed in Article 19(2): in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence. Any hypothetical influence on voters does not figure in this list. Any ban would therefore contravene the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, and belittle the intelligence of voters.

Election Commission should be more interested to stop liquor and money distribution a night before the elections and other illegal activities like booth capturing, mass voting and vote buying etc rather than put a ban on opinion poll.

Banning opinion polls is not a solution and at the same time allowing channels to churn out erroneous predictions to suit a particular individual or political party too is not democratic. This tendency to be partial towards a political leader or a political party should be stopped by some other methods and not by banning opinion polls.

Election Commission's proposal to ban opinion poll is not only flawed and unwarranted, but it also goes against the spirit of the constitution. Is India a truly democratic country or just a banana republic? The assumption that voters are stupid and gullible and can be easily influenced by any trash opinion poll is in itself flawed. In fact, it is the fundamental right of every citizen to know about the mood of the country and what are major issues based on which people are forming their opinion about the performance or non-performance of various contenders. This right cannot be taken away. Casting our valuable vote has to be an informed decision. The Election Commission simply cannot take away this fundamental right.

Opinion polls conducted well before election day are really required as they are warning to the political parties in order to correct their manifesto and keep away from populous programs and promises.