Exit & Opinion Polls India

After Karnataka Results: "Iron Man" Narendra Modi cancels all public engagements!!!

2013-05-08T17:04:00.000+05:30

(Business Standard) Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi may have been described as the most popular leader by members of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but party leaders have noted that he limited his exposure in a state dogged by infighting and corruption.

The Gujarat chief minister was supposed to take part in the parliamentary board meeting, the highest decision making body of BJP, after the Karnataka elections results were announced, but on Wednesday morning Modi informed senior leaders of the BJP that he won’t be able attend the meeting. It has been a normal practice for the BJP leadership to meet and discuss election results each time when polling takes place.

While Modi had earlier confirmed that he would take part in the parliamentary board meeting once the Karnataka election results were announced, but he decided to stay away at the last minute.

From a position where BJP had over 120 members in the legislative assembly in 2008, the party reached a position where it has just 40 seats.

“We came to know in the morning that Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will not attend the parliamentary board meeting,” said a senior leader of BJP.
It is not the first time that Modi has missed attending the crucial parliamentary board meeting on the issue of Karnataka. While senior leaders of BJP were busy brainstorming at the party headquarter to decide which candidates should get tickets for Karnataka election, Modi decided to skip the meeting on two occasions. BJP leaders had earlier came out in Modi defence saying that since he has not been involved in Karnataka politics, there was no need for him to attend the meetings.

During campaigning before the polling, Modi had initially informed BJP leaders in Karnataka that he would be only available for one public meeting in Bengaluru on April 28, but the play had to be altered because of demand from the cadre. Modi held three public meetings but other development mascots of BJP -- Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar – stayed away from the entire campaign.

Karnataka elections 2013: A Narendra Modi flop show?

2013-05-08T16:03:00.000+05:30

(FirstPost) or all inveterate Narendra Modi worshippers, the Karnataka election results should be a shocker. The man with the magic wand has failed to deliver in a state where the party required a miracle most. After all here’s a man who is supposed to have phenomenal following among the middle class, the youth and in urban India. He lords over social media and draws passionate support like not even film stars do. And yes, he, some would vouch, talks the new language of politics – growth, development, governance and what not.

It now appears Modi did not even create a ripple in the state, forget a wave.

Voters in Karnataka have just separated the hype from the substance, and the myth from the man. The BJP has lost miserably in the state. Its failure in urban Karnataka has been spectacular. Obviously, the ‘goundswell’ support for the party after Modi’s election addresses was more social media imagination than reality. It now appears he did not even create a ripple in the state, forget a wave. If any reality check was required on the Modi phenomenon, the results offer that. He is not a leader with pan-Indian acceptability as his diehard supporters would have us believe.

But why are we discussing Modi in the context of the Karnataka elections at all? Well, why indeed! That precisely is the point. To be fair to him, he addressed only three meetings in the state and it was a lost cause in any case. After a chaotic stint in power in Karnataka, the dismal performance of the BJP in the assembly elections was on the cards. The real question was not the defeat per se, but its margin. Modi could not have changed that.

So what is all the hype about? Anyone with rudimentary understanding of current Indian politics would be aware that electoral behaviour has matured beyond hero-worshipping. The Gandhi surname no more attracts blind loyalty and votes, not even in the Gandhi pocket boroughs. There are too many competing interests at play to care about personalities. Modi, given the political ground realities, would find it difficult to be a pan-Indian vote magnet. The voter has grown up. He is less likely to be carried away by hype now than earlier.

Immediately after Modi’s campaign in Karnataka, there was the usual hyperbole about his impact on the voters and party workers. His own publicity machinery was at work again. Had the BJP won it in the state, the success would have been attributed to his superhuman powers. Now that it has lost, should not the blame be on him too? The Modi fan club is resembling more and more the Gandhi family supporters. The basic trait – personality worship – remains the same, only the deities are different.

Let’s get real. Modi’s myth-makers are doing him more harm than good. The more they make him an unreal politician – without normal weaknesses and strengths – the more is the risk of him unravelling quickly.

Karnataka: Counting Live Trends

2013-05-08T08:52:00.003+05:30

Karnataka: Huge and Near Record Voter Turnout: Are Exit Polls Wrong?

2013-05-06T19:04:00.003+05:30

Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha said the total turnout "is 71.29 per cent, which is much better than last time in 2008 (64.78) and the 2009 Lok Sabha. Only 1979 the turnout was very marginally higher.

Remember most of these exit polls were completed by 3 pm the latest when polls closed by 6 pm. The period 3-6 pm saw a big surge in voting.

So Wednesday, it is possible that pollsters end up red faced and may dive for cover. Enjoy as the ballot boxes open and unleash a Tsunami.

Does Narendra Modi matter in Karnataka?

2013-05-06T16:29:00.001+05:30

"I think you will have to reduce 20 to 30 seats for the Congress from your projection. Apparently, Congis are getting loose motions after Narendra Modi's Bangalore campaign".

(IBNLIVE) I received this message as I was on a train to Bangalore and it was from an old college friend who lives in Mumbai. It's one of those messages that I often get from friends who have suddenly begun believing that Modi is an instant solution to any problem. They are not affiliated to the Sangh Parivar, neither do they subscribe to a right-wing ideology; they seem to be just bowled over by the Modi story and his propaganda machinery.

In most cases those who send these messages are people who work very hard in their cubicles, live in guarded apartment complexes in concrete jungles that we call cities. Their socio-political contact is dominated by either a tweet or maximum by a Facebook post. I usually choose to ignore these messages but this time in the context of the Karnataka elections, it may actually be an interesting question to ask: does Narendra Modi matter?

Statesmanship and political appeal is not just about the aura that a politician carries or his image, it's more importantly about connecting with the voter. Modi's success in Gujarat was because of his connect with the Gujarati voters and not just on the social networking sites. The question is whether he can invoke the same kind of emotion from voters in other states. It is unfair to expect the same intensity of support he gets in Gujarat but, if he is to be a true national leader, he needs to connect with the masses beyond his home state.

To achieve a mass appeal that will translate into votes in an election, a national politician needs to take head on the issues which appeal and confront the local electorate. The prestige of a politician cannot be solely dependent on flowing oratory filled with big picture stories and propaganda. It stems out of an ability to empathise and feel the issues relevant to the electorate being addressed. So, to answer whether Modi matters in Karnataka, the fundamental question that requires answering is whether Modi addresses the issues that confront the electorate in the state.

Modi's speech in Bangalore had the usual oratory, fanfare and media focus. What it failed to achieve though was to take on the most pertinent issues faced by the BJP in Karnataka. For instance, he chose not to speak about Yeddyurappa and the terrible perception battle the BJP is fighting. Every other national leader from the party has virtually apologised for what had happened and that's because the overall theme of the BJP campaign in the state has been an admission of failure and an effort to correct it. Most observers have pointed out that the theme of apologising and admitting failure goes down well with the Karnataka electorate.

In not taking on that one major issue, Modi's campaign seemed to give an impression of an aspiring prime ministerial candidate re-enforcing that he is relevant beyond Gujarat rather than a national leader trying to help his party win what is seen as an unwinnable election. It is to take ownership for a situation in not just one state but in every state that's a key trait of a true national figure and with it should come an impression of connecting with the voter beyond classes, language, regional and sub-regional divide. I consciously chose not to mention religious divide because when that factor comes in, the Modi debate reaches a dead end.

One theory that I have often heard in Karnataka is the possibility of Yeddyurappa and the BJP going back to each other after the Assembly polls. That possibility does make it tricky to refer to Yeddyurappa's exit as the exit of problems from the party. But, this can be no reason for not even touching upon the issue during an election campaign. Is it not important for the cadre and the voter to know what an aspiring prime ministerial candidate of a party has to say about what happened in their state? This omission becomes even more pronounced in the overall context when every BJP leader has been speaking about it.

Be that as it may, there was another interesting omission in Modi's campaign and that was a reference to Vajpayee. Karnataka, especially north Karnataka, had what many have called a Vajpayee wave in 2004. Even now when you travel to the BJP heartland around cities like Hubli and Dharwad, people speak of Vajpayee as the icon of the voter. Yeddyurappa may have been the politician who delivered the Lingayat vote but it's Vajpayee who they saw as the statesman. In the minds of voters beyond Gujarat, Vajpayee remains the most towering personality from the BJP and even Advani, during his election campaign speech in Bellary, had tried to use the Vajpayee governance card. So it's quite difficult to comprehend why speaking about good governance, Modi did not mention Vajpayee. There could be many reasons for this omission. One analysis is Modi's own discomfort with Vajpayee after 2002. But the real reasons are best known to the politician himself.

In the overall analysis, one question continues to be raised in murmurs even within the BJP. Why was Modi here? The choice of his campaign venues were designed only to cater to a certain audience. He held rallies in urban Bangalore, Mangalore where the right has historically evoked strong emotions and Belgaum where the Marathi versus Kannada divide has dominated politics. These are places where the BJP is strong and Modi's campaign may not be a catalyst to the end result. If it is to just send the twitter timelines flooding and give him a sense of going beyond Gujarat then it has succeeded.

He is a polarising figure but his ability to go beyond just his image and connect with the electorate across the country remains in question. Karnataka cannot be a big test of Modi's abilities as a vote-catcher beyond Gujarat but it was a test of a politician's ability to grow from a regional or polarising figure into a national leader. In the ultimate analysis, Modi may still have a long way to go to achieve that and the most important point is that he will have to learn to connect with the grassroot electorate beyond urban centres. Vajpayee was an example for the BJP and it's important for the Modi brigade to realise that just mere image does not bring in votes. Achieving true national status cannot merely be about claiming to have one. Yes the cadre gets enthused by him but I wonder if his voter will be more than just the tweeters.

Lots of nataka in Karnataka; Congress may win hands down

2013-05-06T16:15:00.001+05:30

(DNA) Southern Comfort may become a reality for the Congress on Wednesday. On a day the Supreme Court is expected to comment on the CBI’s affidavit in the coal scam probe, exit polls say the Grand Old Party will also be seen bursting crackers for wrenching Karnataka from the BJP.

Karnataka, which went to polls on Sunday for 223 seats (polling for one seat — Periyapatna — was put off till May 28 after the death of the BJP candidate there), saw a 69% turnout — a significant increase over the 64.68% polling witnessed in the 2008 elections.

A higher turnout is generally attributed to voters seeking a change in government. Sandeep Shastri, a political analyst and the pro V-C of Jain University in Bangalore said:

“People seem to have expressed their disappointment with the present dispensation.”

BS Shivanna, convenor of Lohia Thinkers Forum, is more assertive. He feels it is an indication of impending change of government and the Congress being a strong alternative to the BJP and that it would emerge victorious with a comfortable majority.

The BJP government in Karnataka was mired in allegations of corruption, nepotism, and moral depravity. If the exit polls are to be believed, the Congress will make a comeback because of BJP’s poor performance. Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa also played a major role, it seems, by cutting into the BJP vote bank of Lingayats.

While the magic figure for forming the government is 113, most exit polls predict a thumping win for the Congress when the votes are counted on May 8.

Malaysian Parliamentary Results: It was a Malaysian tsunami not a Chinese uprising - Kit Siang

2013-05-06T15:53:00.005+05:30

(Lim Kit Siang in Malaysian Chronicle) While Pakatan may not have achieved its goal of winning a majority of parliament seats to form the next government in Putrajaya, it cannot be denied that we have made significant strides as a coalition in this 13th General Election.

It was a “Malaysian tsunami” and not a “Chinese tsunami” which increased Pakatan’s parliament seats from 82 in 2008 to 89 in 2013 and which increased Pakatan’s state seats from 197 in 2008 to 230 in 2013.

The fact that Pakatan managed to increase its share of parliament and state seats is commendable given the hundreds of millions of Ringgit that were spent by the Barisan Nasional (BN) on free dinners and goodies and to print lies and falsehoods in the mainstream press in order to propagate a disgusting and morally reprehensible politics based on fear.

In many parts of the country, Pakatan won seats in areas that were previously considered as BN strongholds and took down many big BN guns in Malay majority areas.

In P36 Kuala Terengganu (89% Malay), PAS won this seat with an increased majority of 10785 votes compared to a majority of 2631 for the 2009 by-elections,

In P9 Alor Setar (61% Malay), PKR won this seat with a majority of 1873 and defeated former Minister of Housing and Local Government, Chor Chee Heung.

In P74 Lumut (51% Malay) which includes over 10,000 navy voters, PKR won this seat with a thumping majority of 8168 after narrowly losing this seat by 298 votes in 2008 and defeated former Minister of Transport, Kong Cho Ha.

In P113 Sepang (57% Malay), PAS won this seat with a majority of 1104 after losing this seat with 4849 votes in 2008 and defeated Selangor BN coordinator Mohd Zin bin Mohammed.

In P174 Penampang (66% Sabah Bumiputera), PKR won this seat with a thumping majority of 10216 votes after losing this seat by 3063 votes in 2008 and defeated former Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities.

In the state of Johor, the BN fortress was broken with Pakatan winning 5 parliament and 18 state seats. Pakatan could not have won these seats only with Chinese support.

For example PAS won the 54% Malay state seat of N21 Parit Yaani with a majority of 1188 after losing this seat by 3857 votes in 2008. PAS also won the 40% Malay state seat of N41 Puteri Wangsa with a majority of 3469 after losing this seat by 5721 votes in 2008.

In my own state seat of P162 Gelang Patah, my winning majority of 14762 could not have been achieved without a sizeable support from the Malay voters. In the polling stations under the Nusajaya state seat, for example, which is a 47% Malay state seat, I won almost 48% of the popular vote, an increase of 6% from the 2008 general elections.

Najib and Chua have also conveniently forgotten that in the state of Sabah, Pakatan won 12 state seats, up from just 1 in 2008. And 5 of these seats were Sabah Bumiputera / mixed seats: N4 Matunggong, N7 Kadamaian, N9 Tamparuli, N13 Inanam and N20 Moyog.

Pakatan Rakyat has campaigned based on a Politics of Hope during this 13th General Election in contrast to the dirty tactics employed by BN to continue their propagation of the Politics of Fear.

I am confident that further analysis will show that there has been a noticeable shift in the support for Pakatan Rakyat across the country by voters from all races.

And I am confident that the Barisan Nasional is at the end of its days as the federal government.

Lim Kit Siang is the DAP adviser & MP for Gelang Patah

Malaysian GE 13: Barisan Nasional win seats but Pakatan Rakyat leads in popular votes

2013-05-06T09:36:00.002+05:30

BN’s strike rate in the parliamentary elections had been much higher than in the state polls viz the opposition coalition Vote shares should indicate a much closer race both for parliament and state.

With all results in, BN polled 5.220 million votes (49%) to Pakatan Rakyat’s 5.489 million (52%), for a deficit of 269,130 votes based on calculations by The Malaysian Insider. The Election Commission has yet to release the official results.

This was proportionally down from the 4.082 million votes the coalition polled in Election 2008, against the 3.796 million that the parties of PKR, DAP, and PAS collected then.The last time an Umno-led coalition lost the popular vote was in 1969, then contested by BN's predecessor, the Alliance Party.

Malaysian GE: A Two-Third Majority eludes Barisan. But with defections, a two-third majority possible

2013-05-05T23:39:00.000+05:30

It is now obvious that the BN will fail to get a two-thirds majority though with defections may clobber up a two-thirds majority strength.

Malaysian GE: Najib tweets Terima Kesah to voters while Opposition leader Anwar complains of fraud!

2013-05-05T23:28:00.001+05:30

1.22am: Najib Razak: I would like to thank the voters and Malaysians for choosing us. I'm hoping that the opposition accepts this result and lets the process go smoothly.

1.28am: Anwar Ibrahim tweets that evidence of voter fraud has been presented to international media.

2.01am: Anwar Ibrahim refuses to accept elections results, says he expects EC to respond and issue official statement to allegations of fraud

Why you need to take the Karnataka exit poll results with a pinch of salt

2013-05-05T23:11:00.003+05:30

You have seen the range of exit polls with the pollsters; TV anchors and “experts” discussing as if it is the actual result. Though all of them project the Congress the winner and the BJP the loser, only the Chanakaya Poll may appeas to be a statistical outlier - giving the Congress seats in the 130 range and the BJP below the 40 seat range. All the rest of the polls project the Congress just below or just at or just above the simple majority line with the BJP around the 50 seat range. But then again it can be just the opposite given the chequered record of exit polls in the country.

But most of the polls, designed to meet the 6 pm broadcast trended voting till at the most 3 pm whereas voting closed at 6 pm. As it occurs often, the last minute voters are a different class by themselves and they can change trends markedly different. In Uttar Pradesh and Tamilnadu, though exit polls correctly predicted the winner; they nevertheless missed the magnitude of the winning margin. In UP, it projected the SP just falling short of majority when SP actually cruised to a very comfortable majority.In Tamilnadu, exit polls gave Jayalaithaa a simple majority when she obtained a landslide - 4/5^th majority. They can go the other way too as seen in table in 2001 West Bengal Assembly, The TMC-Congress was projected as winners only to see face almost decimation.

So on Wednesday, be prepared for big surprises. There are very few genuine psephologists in India and you can bet they will once again expose themselves as quarks on counting day.

Ruling Barisan Nasional cruising to two-third majority. Najib out crafts Anwar

2013-05-05T22:20:00.002+05:30

# Latest available data

Malaysia elections: Barisan on track for two-thirds majority in Sabah, wins Labuan

2013-05-05T20:07:00.003+05:30

(AsiaOne) Barisan has projected that it will form the next the state government with a more then two-thirds majority as it is leading in all but seven to 10 state seats.

Barisan newcomer Rozman Isli also won the Labuan federal territory seat for the coalition defeating corporate figure Tan Sri Ibrahim Menuddin (PKR) by a majority of 6625 votes.

Rosman managed to secure 12, 694 votes compared to Menuddin's 6,069 votes. Although PAS Hadnan Mohamad withdrew on order of his party leaders, he still obtained 386 votes in the 24, 474 voters.
Unofficial results stated that Barisan's Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh has retained his Kalabakan parliament seat in the seven-corner fight.

Except for Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Beaufort, Kota Marudu and Penampang, Barisan is leading in the remaining 20 parliament seats with more then half of the boxes counted.

Malaysia ruling coalition leads early poll results

2013-05-05T19:51:00.003+05:30

(Boston.com) Malaysia’s ruling coalition took an early lead in results for national elections Sunday after a record number of voters cast ballots, with some choosing to extend the coalition’s 56-year rule and others pressing for an unprecedented victory by an opposition that pledges cleaner government.

Prime Minister Najib Razak’s National Front coalition captured 25 parliamentary seats while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s three-party alliance seized 13 in the earliest results released by Malaysia’s Election Commission. At least 112 of the 222 parliamentary seats at stake are needed to win federal power.

Many of the seats won so far are in the National Front’s traditional rural strongholds in Borneo, where Anwar’s alliance was hoping to make major inroads to bolster its chances of winning.

The National Front has triumphed in 12 consecutive general elections since independence from Britain in 1957, but it was facing its most unified challenge ever from an opposition that hoped to capitalize on widespread allegations of arrogance, abuse of public funds and racial discrimination against the National Front.

Initial counting showed the opposition retained strong support in urban constituencies, especially in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s biggest city, and was almost certain to retain control of northern Penang state, one of Malaysia’s wealthiest territories.

Read more: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/2013/05/05/malaysia-ruling-coalition-leads-early-poll-results/y5SW1rwnUOTtv8nfu68rLJ/story.html

CNNIBN-CSDS Karnataka Exit Poll

2013-05-05T19:34:00.000+05:30

Chanakya-MailToday Karnataka Exit Poll

2013-05-05T18:44:00.003+05:30

(PTI) The results of exit polls are pointing in Karnataka. According to exit polls of voters and Todays Chanakya C in Karnataka BJP's 'Magic' has failed and has had tremendous Yedayurppa Factor BJP. The state will come down to half its seats, while the Congress comfortably tremendous performance will cross the majority mark.

C-Voter Voter exit polls in the state in Congress from 223 to 114 seats. Congress won 80 seats in the 2008 assembly elections. Thus it is expected to gain 34 seats. The Karnataka total of 224 seats to 223 seats is as voting. The ruling party may be jolted. According to exit polls, the only fort in South India Karnataka BJP is set to collapse. Yedayurppa Lingayat community leader from the BJP, the party would suffer great loss.

BJP won 110 seats in the last elections is estimated to have declined from over half or 55. According to C-Voter Yedayurppa Karnataka Janata Party (Kejepi) has 11 seats. JD (S) to 9 seats 34 and is likely to do.

m TimesNow TV

CVoter Karnataka Exit Poll

2013-05-05T18:19:00.001+05:30

Malaysia GE Polls: 80% Voter Turnout. An All Time Record

2013-05-05T16:44:00.003+05:30

(MalaysiaKini) About 80 percent of 12,992,661 voters turned out for the 13th general election, says the EC.

This is the highest in Malaysian electoral history, beating the 78.9 percent recorded in 1964.

azlanEC deputy chairperson Wan Ahmad Wan Omar told Bernama that most of the 8,245 polling centres, which had opened at 8 am, closed at 5 pm as scheduled.

Two polling centres in the Tungku state constituency and one in the Lahad Datu constituency, in Sabah, closed at 3 pm as scheduled.

He said the counting of votes began at 5.30pm and the tallying will be done after that.

PKR's Elizabeth Wong tweets that some voting stations charted turnouts of 85 percent and above for the Bukit Lanjan state seat and Subang parliamentary seat - with one recording 90 percent.

Read more: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/229160

Congress elated: Karnataka/Bangalore heads for record voter turnout

2013-05-05T16:19:00.004+05:30

Karnataka State Voter Turnout 50% by 3 pm and poised to better the voter turnout of 2007 of 64.48.

Very heartening, Bangalore at 3 pm already surpassed the voter turnout of 2007 of 44%.

Higher turnout is expected to help the Congress chalk a landslide win over theBJP

BJP's Venkaiah Naidu falls in line at polling booth. An indication of people's anger against BJP

2013-05-05T14:08:00.005+05:30

Ruling BJP's senior leader and lawmaker M. Venkaiah Naidu had a taste of the people's power Sunday when he was snubbed by voters when he tried to muscle his way into a polling booth with party workers and supporters, jumping the queue.

A Rajya Sabha member from the state, Naidu is a voter in the Malleshwaram assembly constituency, a middle class locality in the northwest of the city.

When Naidu tried to walk straight into the booth with a couple of his party cadres, instead of standing in line and awaiting his turn, some of the voters already in the queue shouted at him, asking him to fall in line.

Taken aback, Naidu sought to pacify the crowd saying he was in a hurry to cast his vote as he had other engagements to attend as an member of parliament from the state.

As many of the voters in the queue did not know or recognise Naidu, who originally hails from the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh state, they politely told him that it was immaterial who he was; everyone had to be in line.

A chastened Naidu stood in line, as did the men with him.

Hundreds of Bogus Voters caught in Bangalore BJP pays Rs 500 per bogus voter

2013-05-05T14:02:00.003+05:30

One BJP tout arrested and 500 bogus voters caught in Bommanhalli. Those arrested said the tout paid Rs 500.

So facing defeat, BJP tries to buy vote. But would that be enough?

Karnataka Assembly Polls: Kumaraswamy JD[S] confident of winning but will sit in the opposition if loses

2013-05-05T13:31:00.001+05:30

(IndiaToday): After a hectic campaigning for the Karnataka Assembly polls, Janata Dal (Secular) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy seems to be in no mood to relax. For the last one-and-a-half year, he has been touring the state extensively.

He toured more than 1.5 lakh km in the state. He also successfully campaigned against former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and Bellary mine lords. Kumaraswamy concentrated on 180 of the 224 constituencies. When he felt coastal Karnataka was not receptive to his party, he did not try too hard. Ahead of the polls, Kumaraswamy was in an upbeat mood, expressing confidence to emerge as the single-largest party. Earlier, he spoke about getting a simple majority.

When the poll surveys, however, started hinting that Congres had an edge over rest of the parties, Kumaraswamy started coming to realistic terms. But he still hopes to win 80-85 seats.

"We have two problems. The first is financial crunch and secondly, the fund mobilisation fell short of my expectation. That is largely due to poll predictions, which portray Congress as the single largest party. The donors backtrack funding a losing party. This negative publicity has also affected my party prospects in some places," Kumaraswamy said.
However, he refused to agree with poll pundits.
"One has to tour the state to know the pulse of the people. I have toured more than one lakh kilometre. The poll surveys are conducted based on sample surveys. Even a five per cent variation in the sample will alter the result," he said.
"The poll surveys have created a kind of euphoria for the Congress... But that will not help the Congress," he said.
Though inclined towards his old partner, BJP, Kumaraswamy said he has not yet made up his mind on coalition partner.
"As a party, we have not taken a decision on coalition partner. That has to be decided after the verdict is out. In my personal opinion, if JD(S) fails to get mandate, we should sit in opposition," he said.

Karnataka assembly Polls: 15-20% voter turnout in first 3 hours. Bangalore below 10%

2013-05-05T11:39:00.003+05:30

Sources in the Election Commission estimated the poll percentage by 10 AM to be in the region of 15-20 per cent. Polling has been extended by an hour and will take place till 6 PM.

Authorities have made elaborate security arrangements for peaceful and smooth conduct of polls, which commenced at 7 am.

Malaysian GE 13: Long lines – and a little bit of soap

2013-05-05T11:24:00.003+05:30

(Free Malaysia Today) Long lines greeted voters when polling started today in the country’s 13th general election while the indelible ink which does not stick to the nails has taken the limelight so far.

While no untoward incidents were reported so far, voting in many constituencies throughout the country is seeing high voter turnout, with long queues outside polling centres.

Voters are complaining of the long lines, some stretching out to roads outside polling centres. Some braved the hot sunny weather under cover of umbrellas and newspapers. A high voter turnout is expected in this polls.

Although the Meteorological Department has forecast clear skies, many expect a heavy downpour in the afternoon and early evening based on the weather pattern over the last week.

Meanwhile, some voters and opposition leaders have been sounding alarm bells, claiming that the indelible ink used by the Election Commission (EC) to mark those who have voted, can easily be washed off with soap or detergents.

A voter in Lembah Pantai even demonstrated to the media that the ink can be washed off with detergent. He did this immediately after casting his ballot, just to prove the EC is wrong.

But the EC is unperturbed that the ink can be washed off.

EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar said even if the ink can be washed off, a voter cannot possibly vote twice as he or she would have only one MyKad number.

He said this when queried about the string of reports that the ink, introduced to thwart double voting, disappears after being washed with just soap and water.

“I am not worried about indelible ink being washed off today because tomorrow you cannot vote. How are you going to vote without a MyKad number? Your name is only stated once,” he told reporters at SMK Bukit Bandaraya polling centre in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, here.

In some constituencies “foreigners” were “arrested” when they queued up to cast their ballot papers.

In Morib, four Pakistanis were hauled up by opposition supporters after they were found queuing to vote.

Missing logo

However, quick intervention by the police and EC officials prevented an ugly scene. The four were later “released” after the police found that they were Malaysian citizens with foreign parentage. After a few anxious moments, two “foreigners” were back in line while the other two were still being investigated.

In Bestari Jaya, formerly Batang Berjuntai, Selangor, the opposition is complaining that its party logo was missing from the ballots for the state seat of Ijok and the parliamentary constituency of Kuala Selangor.

They also alleged that voters were given pencils to mark their ballots at Sekolah Menengah Mengkuang in Penang.

It is also claimed that one EC returning officer at the Gombak parliamentary constituency did not bring Form 13, which is used to verify the number of ballots available in the room prior to voting.

Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and wife Rosmah Mansor cast their ballots at the polling centre in Sekolah Menengah Sains Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah in Pekan.

Najib, who is defending the Pekan seat which he held since 1976, faces PKR’s Mohd Fariz Abdul Talib in a straight fight.

In Muar, Johor, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and wife cast their ballots at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sri Muar, Jalan Meriam.

In Marang, Terengganu, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang voted at Sekolah Kebangsaan Rusila at 8.05am. Abdul Hadi is defending both the Marang parliamentary seat and the Rhu Rendang state seat.

In Permatang Pauh, Penang, PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is defending the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, has cast his ballot at Sekolah Kebangsaan Penanti at 9am.

Polling stations open today at 8am allowing about 13 million registered voters to cast their ballot papers to decide on their respective representatives for the State Legislative Assemblies and Parliament.

There are 8,789 polling centres with 26,219 polling streams, nationwide.

The polling stations will close at 5pm and official results are expected to be out from 8pm onwards.

A total of 13,268,002 voters are expected to decide their representative for 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats. Of the 13.2 million, up to 2,345,863 million are young voters. Up to 12,992,661 voters are ordinary voters.

There are a total of 579 candidates vying for the 222 parliament seats and 1,322 candidates eyeing the 505 state assembly seats.

Independents created a record this time around. Of the 579 parliamentary candidates, there are 79 Independents. Of the 1,322 state assembly seat candidates, 190 are Independents.

Malaysia GE 13: Many wounds to heal after the election

2013-05-05T00:16:00.002+05:30

(Stasiareport) SOME time late tonight or early tomorrow, the world will have a good picture of which way the dice fell in Malaysia’s most vigorously contested general election.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, son and nephew of former prime ministers, began the campaign by voicing “cautious optimism” for his ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) chances. He ended it on a high note, waxing confident about regaining a two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Mr Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition’s biggest name, has said publicly that big crowds at rallies organised by his Pakatan Rakyat need not translate into votes. But he, too, is confident that the popular force is with him.

A poll by the respected Merdeka Centre released last Friday evening had their chances roughly even, with 46 of the 222 parliamentary constituencies too close to call. A closer look at the survey suggests that the challengers may be ahead by a nose in Peninsular Malaysia, an advantage that could be neutralised by the resources available to the incumbent and steadfast support for BN from the Borneo states of Sarawak and Sabah.

Even without surveys predicting a tight race and the forces unleashed by a resurgent opposition facing a resolute government, there was enough tension in the build-up to Malaysia’s 13th General Election, with people emotionally invested as never before.

With 2.5 million new names among the 13.3 million eligible voters, there is an unprecedented number of young and first-timers heading to polling booths today. Political surveys show that more young people support the opposition.

In some families, there is a split along generational lines. Other fault lines may show up as the counting proceeds.

Today, fully three-quarters of Malaysians are urban dwellers. It is with the urban crowd that opposition figures have found the most traction.

However, electoral boundaries, last redrawn in 2003, do not reflect this reality, leaving an overwhelming number of seats in areas listed as “rural”. Since Umno’s base is really the rural hinterland, this could lead to a situation where the eventual seat distribution doesn’t reflect the popular vote. That could leave some with a sense of having been robbed.

There is also a trust deficit. With almost every important mainstream media outlet controlled by people close to the ruling coalition, people have turned en masse to the Internet and social media to get an alternate view. Every government announcement is subjected to an amazing level of scrutiny and scepticism.

And then there is race.