The Election Commission today claimed that huge distortion was created due to exit polls, calling for self-introspection by pollsters.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that a major distortion is being created due to Exit Polls and expectations set by it. He said that this is a matter of deliberation and introspection for the Press, particularly for electronic media. He added that though the Election Commission does not govern Exit Polls, there is a need for self-introspection by pollsters. 

The Chief Election Commissioner questioned if there are disclosures regarding what was the sample size, where was the survey done, how did the result come and what is Election Commission’s responsibility if they did not match to that result, adding that all of these need to be seen. Mentioning that there are bodies which govern Exit Polls, he said that he is confident that time has come for the governing associations to do some self-regulation.

Furthermore, Rajiv Kumar also questioned early trends shown on TV channels within 15-30 minutes of the start of assembly election vote counting. He noted that counting happens roughly on the third day after the elections end. However, expectations rise from 6 pm, and there is no scientific base to this in public disclosure, he continued. The CEC said that when counting begins, results start pouring at 8.05-8.10 am, which is nonsense. Questioning if the initial trend is to justify Exit Poll, he stated that the first counting of EVMs begins at 8.30 am.

He asserted that the Election Commission starts putting the results at 9.30 am on the website, and when the actual results start coming in, there is a mismatch. He said that this mismatch can lead to serious issues sometimes. The gap between expectations and achievements is nothing but frustration, and this issue is such that it needs some deliberation, the poll panel chief.

Many Exit Poll projections had shown the Congress to sweep assembly elections in Haryana. Nonetheless, the BJP defied all the projections to emerge victorious in the northern state and secure a third straight term with 48 seats.

Additionally, on the counting day, early trends on several TV channels showed that Congress was leading in Haryana with 60-plus seats. However, as the day progressed, the BJP turned the tables and ended up with 48 seats.

The Election Commission on Tuesday announced that the upcoming Maharashtra and Jharkhand assembly election will be held in two phases beginning from November 13. Maharashtra will vote in one phase on November 20, while Jharkhand will vote in two phases on November 13 and November 20. The counting of the votes will take place on November 23. 

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that the date of issue of Gazette notification for Maharashtra Assembly Election is October 22, and the last date of filing nominations is October 29. He added that the date for scrutiny of nominations will be October 30 and the last date for withdrawal of candidates is November 4. 

The 2024 Maharashtra election will see a key contest between the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena-UBT, NCP-Sharad Pawar faction, Congress) and the ruling Mahayuti Alliance (BJP, Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde faction, NCP-Ajit Pawar faction). 

In the previous assembly election held in 2019, the BJP won 105 seats, while the Congress secured 44. However, the BJP’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections saw a drop, winning only nine seats out of 48, compared to 23 in the previous term, while Maha Vikas Aghadi won 30 seats. The term of the 288-member Maharashtra assembly ends on November 26.

In Jharkhand much of the election rhetoric is expected to focus on the money laundering allegations surrounding Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31. The Chief Minister secured bail in June after the Supreme Court said he was not, prima facie, guilty.

Hemant Soren has repeatedly denied charges against him, and has accused the ruling BJP of framing his arrest, weeks before the Lok Sabha election in an attempt to derail the opposition.

The Jharkhand assembly’s term ends on January 5. Notably, these are the final round of state elections for the year.

India has recently signed a deal with the United States for the procurement of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance UAV manufactured by General Atomics. This follows less than a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden held a meeting about the acquisition of the drones on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit held in Delaware.

Both the countries signed a deal worth Rs 32,000 crore for the acquisition of 31 predator drones, along with the establishment of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India.

The Predator drones deal will enhance the surveillance capabilities of the Indian armed forces. Reports said, the total value of the deal could increase to Rs 34,500 crore. The project was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) past week under which 15 birds will go to the Indian Navy while the rest would be divided equally between the Air Force and the Army.

India has been discussing the deal with the United States for many years, but the final hurdles were cleared a few weeks ago at the Defence Acquisition Council meeting as it had to be cleared before October 31 as the validity of the American proposal was till that time only.

Reportedly, India would be basing the drones at four possible locations, including INS Rajali near Chennai, Porbandar in Gujarat, Sarsawa and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The United States had approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B drones to the Indian military at an estimated cost of $3.99 billion in February.

The major characteristic of the MQ-9B Predator is its whisper-quiet operation. The drone stands out from the rest because of its stealth feature. The predator drone can fly as close to 250 metres from the ground without the target even having an inkling it is there unless spotted.

The drone with a maximum speed of 442 km/h, can soar at an altitude of around 50,000 feet, higher than that of a commercial airplane. Its capacity to send on extended missions in any kind of weather is another noteworthy feature. It also has the option to be fitted with air-to-ground missiles in addition to air-to-air missiles.

Furthermore, the MQ-9B drone can fly 2,000 miles without refueling and carry up to 1,700 kg of cargo, which includes four missiles and about 450 kg of bombs. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the drone manufacturer claims that it can fly nonstop or hover over targets for up to 35 hours.