The Hindu : National : Jaitley predicts comfortable majority for NDA

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Thursday, Apr 29, 2004

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National

Jaitley predicts comfortable majority for NDA

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, APRIL 28. The Law Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson, Arun Jaitley, today predicted a ``comfortable majority'' for the National Democratic Alliance despite the projections by exit polls.

All parties favoured a ban on exit polls till the end of the last phase of elections, but the Attorney-General felt that such a ban would violate the freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution. Article 19 (2) allows the State to place ``reasonable restrictions'' on the ``exercise of this right'' but only in the ``interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, and security of the State ... ''

Mr. Jaitley said he did not think the exit poll results would have any major impact on the voter behaviour. The BJP's landslide victory in the Rajasthan Assembly polls last year had proved this. In fact, even this time there was a wide variation in the number of Lok Sabha seats being given to the NDA and the Congress-led alliance by the different exit polls.

Psephologists, Mr. Jaitley said, should do their homework thoroughly and be ``more accurate.'' They should also place their material for audit by an independent expert.

The Civil Aviation Minister, Raja Pratap Rudy, told presspersons that he met the Election Commission and sought countermanding of polls in the Chapra Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar where he was pitted against the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief, Laloo Prasad Yadav. He played video-cassettes of incidents of violence in the area and said that copies of the cassettes had been given to the Commission. Mr. Rudy claimed that there were thousands of explosions in Chapra and it was the ``bullet not the ballot'' that ruled the area on April 26.

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