UDF unruffled by exit polls. Will win: Ramesh Chennithala

Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even whereas Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has determined his swearing-in date, a assured UDF camp has rubbished the exit ballot outcomes which predicted an LDF victory. On the eve of the counting day, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala was huddled with three central Congress secretaries — P Viswanath, Ivan D’Souza and P V Mohan – on the Cantonment House.

The Congress management alleges that Pinarayi’s crew had given funds to a number one Malayalam tv channel to carry a pre-poll survey to set a pattern in favour of the LDF. State Congress vp Sooranad Rajasekharan termed the exit polls “fudged”.

“Youths angered by PSC and backdoor appointments formed 20% of the voters. Secondly, all is not well within the CPM leadership. For the first time, the Congress party stood united and fielded 55% fresh faces to wide appreciation. If these factors have not benefited the UDF, then there arises doubts of manipulation in the voting pattern,” he stated.

The Congress expects to win 45-50 seats and the opposite UDF allies 31.

“The exit polls have been unsuccessful in capturing the pulse of silent voters, and the undercurrents,” stated RSP’s N Okay Premachandran.Chennithala instructed reporters at Indira Bhavan that exit polls lack “scientific foundation” as those that conduct them communicate to “just to 250 voters when constituencies have two lakh voters”.