THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The heat of the keenly watched Delhi Assembly polls was felt in the south end of the country also, with TV channels here making it a point with ‘election specials’ in the run up to the polls and counting day. But like the national media routed judgment, TV shows and discussions here had no inkling on what was really in store and surprise outcome, even when almost all noticed the surge being made by the AAP but unwilling to judge or predict any landslide victory for the nascent political party.
The drubbing which Congress is going to receive was a foregone conclusion, but none predicted a BJP rout also at the hustings. BJP leaders participating in the TV shows here were brimming with confidence on a continuing Modi wave. The AAP, which was strapped with the lack of any charismatic leader in Kerala, was steamrolled in prime time discussions in TV channels, with billboards on various exit polls guiding it.
“Discussions in the TV channels here are definitely sub-standard. It is even worse when it comes to many anchors. They are mocking at viewers,who are much more enlightened than those participating in the discussions. Politics based discussions and unraveling controversies have nothing to do with real issues or pulse. In the Delhi polls also, discussions were far from reality,” observed KPCC vice-president and spokesperson M M Hassan.
The exit poll results also proved to be a big zero, as none sensed the gathering AAP wave and undercurrents in its entirety. The media, as usual, proved to be adept in wriggling out without giving convincing answers or justification for their wrong assessment, while the Malayali audience were left wonder-struck and even dismayed on the loud claims made prior to the poll outcome, particularly by the BJP leaders. But then, it is not for the first time Keralites were getting fooled.