Banning opinion polls may boomerang on Congress

While it's the Congress today which is advising the Election Commission to ban opinion polls, let me remind that it was the BJP in 2004 which supported restricting opinions polls between the date of notification of polls until the last day of voting.  At that time BJP leaders were unwilling to accept the fact that their popularity had gone down even while their India was shining.


Political leaders are not oblivious of the right to free speech enshrined in our Constitution. They are also familiar with the fact that unlike other fundamental rights, the right to free speech cannot be restricted on the ground of any undefined reason. I have no doubt that any move to impose restriction on free speech will be struck down by Supreme Court. There are several cases where the Supreme Court has held that the fundamental right to free speech cannot be compromised.

In United Kingdom and United States, there is no embargo period for publishing pre-election opinion polls. It is no secret that opinion polls in America play a major role in guiding the political parties in formulating their strategy during the elections.  Psephologists are lured to help out, but there are never made the subject of derision or ridicule.