As Kerala gears up for Assembly election on April 6, the leader of opposition in Kerala has hit out at media channels for voter surveys that show the LDF’s return to power. Calling the opinion polls a “conspired effort to sabotage Congress’s increased reception among people” and “one-sided”, Chennithala said that in the last Lok Sabha polls also, similar surveys were done to affect the UDF, but the results proved the surveys wrong.
The latest CVoter survey with Mathrubhumi says LDF will get 75-83 seats, UDF will get 56-64 seats and NDA will get 0-2 seats. As far as vote share goes, it says that LDF’s share will be 40.9%, UDF’s will be 7.9% and BJP will get 16.6%.
“In last Lok Sabha polls, opinion polls mostly said it will be the LDF which will lead, but what happened was that UDF got 19 out of 20 seats, and many [candidates] won by a high margin. When Pala bye-polls happened, it was predicted UDF would win, but when results came, LDF had won,” Chennithala said. “On the outside, we see the media as objective. But they are playing heinous tactics.”
He also said that the opposition gets very little space and consideration in the media, compared to the ruling front. Chennithala compared Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Modi in terms of allegedly influencing the media. “Are these media ethics? This is what Modi does in Delhi. Here, the media is threatened and given ads for such things. Is it right for the media in Kerala to become one-sided without giving any space for the opposition? Some channel presenters are painting things as though Pinarayi government will come to power not only for these five years, but the next five also,” Chennithala alleged.
“The government has spent Rs 200 crore for advertisement alone and Rs 57 crore was from Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). The opposition does not have such means to give advertisements,” he further alleged.