What has angered them is the fact that these reports have projected significant gains for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections from the State. Leading the anti-BJP criticism is LDF convener EP Jayarajan who dubbed the exit poll reports as a politically motivated exercise carried out without the help of any scientific findings or ground-level analysis. What is making the reports suspicious is the claims made by all without exception, that the BJP will give a good account of itself in Kerala this time around. There is absolutely no basis for these claims, Jayarajan said, adding that Kerala, which is a synonym for secular politics, does not allow communal parties to make electoral gains. However, he cautioned that the secular parties need to exercise extreme vigilance during the counting in view of the one-sided exit poll reports.

Likewise, Congress and Indian Union Muslim League(IUML) leaders are also sure that the BJP will not open its account from Kerala, projections to the contrary notwithstanding. Senior Congress leader and party candidate from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency, K. Muralidharan, took strong exception to the BJP’s claims that the party would romp home the winner from Thrissur and Attingal. The UDF would win in Thrissur and BJP candidate Suresh Gopi would end up third, he pointed out. He also opined that in all the seven Assembly constituencies in Thrissur, the fight is between the LDF and the UDF.

Several other CPI(M) leaders have also expressed the confidence that the LDF would win majority of the seats from Kerala. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan pooh-poohed the tall claims made by the BJP. These biased exit poll reports lack credibility and need not be taken seriously, a confident-looking Govindan averred. Senior party leader AK Balan went to the extent of saying that the LDF would win all the seats from the State. He said if the BJP indeed manages to win a seat from the state, the UDF would be responsible for it.

Balan also rubbished the exit poll reports. He said these reports cannot be trusted. In support of his argument, he said, in 2004, most polls predicted that the National Democratic Alliance headed by the BJP would come to power. However, it was the United Progressive Alliance led by the Congress which emerged the winner. Moreover, the so-called Modi wave of 2019 does not exist this time.

BJP leader and Union Minister V. Muralidharan, however, painted a different picture. He said the BJP would open its account in Kerala. The party would make significant inroads into the vote base of both the UDF and the LDF, springing an ugly surprise on both the fronts, he opined. BJP state president K. Surendran is sure of the party winning as many as 5 to 6 seats this time! A tall claim indeed, which is divorced from the reality on the ground. The so-called anti-incumbency against the LDF Government would help the BJP to acquit itself well this time. That was his considered opinion – a claim that both UDF and LDF leaders scoffed at.

Meanwhile, all the 20 centres in the State are ready for the counting. According to the Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Kaul, counting will begin at 8 a.m. on June 4 with the postal votes being counted first. According to Kaul, each Assembly constituency will have a separate hall for counting votes with a maximum of 14 tables in each hall. Each table will have a counting supervisor, a gazetted rank officer, a counting assistant and a micro-observer.

Also, the counting process will see the use of the control units of EVMs. The counting tables will have the number of votes polled recorded in Form 17C. The counting supervisor will ensure, in the presence of counting agents, that the machine is intact before breaking the seal. The supervisor will also press the button on each machine and the vote for each candidate will be recorded in the presence of the agents. The ECI observer will randomly select any two machines to verify the recorded count after counting all the voting machines in each round. The announcement of the results of that round will come after the verification. Only after that will the next set of voting machines will be brought in for counting.

Besides, the verification of VVPAT slips would be done only after the votes in all EVMs are counted. VVPAT slips from five randomly selected polling stations in each constituency will be counted. Only after this process is completed will the final result be declared. (IPA Service)