Exit to Exit Polls

Nowadays Exit Polls are the usual practice of almost all the media and organizations for getting public attention and huge income from advertisements. Though this technique is used for predicting the public opinion and election results, one must think how far these are sincere and systematic.
This Bloger has a very good experience as a Field Investigator during the 1996 Loksabha Election to the Indian Parliament. The study was sponsored by the Hindu Daily and the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (New Delhi). The Field Investigators (FI) from all over India was given extensive training in two sessions in Chennai and Bangalore. The FIs were the Post Graduate Students and Research Scholars from different Universities. Dr.Yogindra Yadav and Dr. V.B. Singh held the classes who were known psephologists and Fellows of the CSDS. They insisted on the techniques of probing, report building and non-replacement of samples while interviewing.
We had four sessions of survey- Pre-poll, Mid-poll, Exit poll and Post poll. In each session we had to interview the samples already selected from the electoral roll of selected constituencies. Each team of Investigators (preferably consisting of a boy and a girl) had to interview 30 to 32 respondents with a questionnaire translated into the regional language.
The CSDS provided the FIs with the signed copies of ID by the Chief Election Commissioner. Hence we were allowed to stay just outside the polling stations with the permission of the Presiding Officer. We had to meet the voters who were coming out of the booth after exercising their franchise at three spells- 7 to 8 AM, 12 to 1 PM, and 4 to 5 PM. We met every fifth voter and gave them the dummy ballot paper and stamp seal, asked them to do secret vote and collected them in a dummy ballot box. In the evening we counted the votes and filled the spread sheet already provided by the CSDS. Then the sheets were sent to the Head Quarters through fax from the concerned district Collectoratre.
The next day the Hindu daily published the results. The Doordarshan telecasted a live programme with Dr. Yogindra Yadav and Mr. Pranoy Roy (NDTV Fame). The prediction was much accurate and study contributed to valid observations and findings on the prospect of Indian democracy and the political culture of the people of India.