Kerala Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala has hit out against mainstream media for their pre-poll survey ahead of the Kerala Assembly elections. He alleged that it is the media’s thanks to the LDF government for the Rs 200 Crore advertisement, and such a quid-pro-quo is not media ethics. He added that many of the pre-poll surveys, which predict the LDF returning to power, are an effort to whitewash the many corruptions of the government.
“Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is knee-deep in corruption, fears that the people will oust him. This fear has also shaken the LDF, and thus the left came up with the surveys to create a good image to outrun the allegations,” Ramesh said, adding that such surveys are intended to stop the UDF’s momentum in the current election.
He added that such surveys were conducted in the run down to the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Then, the media had claimed that the left would capture the majority of seats in the election but the results surprised everyone. With 19 out of 20 in the UDF’s kitty, the media and their survey were missing after the results came about, said Ramesh. “They [surveys] predicted 12-15 seats for LDF, that Kummanam Rajasekharan would win Thiruvananthapuram, VK Sreekantan would not only lose but be pushed to third spot. However, not only did LDF get only one seat, Shashi Tharoor won Thiruvananthapuram, and Sreekantan won Palakkad, proving that the surveys were wrong,” said Ramesh, adding that the surveys were also wrong about the UDF winning Pala in the by-election.
Moreover, the surveys are also trying to bring me down as well, claimed Ramesh Chennithala. “I have levelled accusations against the government with proper evidence. They have all been proved true as well, and the government had to admit to that. Now, they are using surveys, which doesn’t even account for one per cent of vote share, to bring down me as well as the UDF,” he added.
Addressing the Sabarimala issue, he said that the CPM has lost its identity in the Sabarimala issue. Chennithala said that when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that he did not know the circumstances under which Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran expressed his regret, it was clear that they were sticking to the stand taken by the government and Pinarayi. “The CM is misleading the people. Is Sabarimala in favour of women’s admission? Will the affidavit be edited? Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should answer the questions.
