'Nitish paid Rs 46 cr for favourable exit polls'

Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad on Sunday rubbished the exit polls conducted by news channels that projected a landslide victory for the ruling National Democratic Alliance in Bihar assembly elections. He claimed that the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Lok Janshakti Party alliance would form the government with a two-third majority.

"I have been in politics since 1977 and understand the pulse of the people better than anybody. According to my assessment, the RJD-LJP alliance will come to power as the electorate has rejected the NDA outright," the former chief minister told reporters.

Angry over the news channels broadcasting exit polls midway through the elections, Prasad alleged the media was doing 'dirty work' to help its 'benefactors'.

Prasad said contrary to the psephologists' claim that women voters favoured NDA, it was the RJD-LJP combine that had obtained support of the women as they belonged to the poor and downtrodden communities, which have been the core constituents of his alliance.

"I will meet the EC with a full delegation seeking a ban on the survey and exit polls after the conclusion of the assembly poll process," he said.

Prasad also slammed the print media for their 'lop sided' coverage of the elections and said that the reportage was 'not news, but views'. The leaders and workers of the RJD-LJP combine have suffered 'mental torture' due to 'paid news' in the newspapers apparently to benefit their benefactors, he alleged.

Prasad appealed to the Election Commission to conduct the counting of votes with transparency, by keeping a watch over the poll officials, including observers, and ensure that the results were announced only after proper verification.

LJP general secretary Satyanand Sharma and its media in-charge Lalan Chandravanshi also echoed Prasad's observations, saying the survey outcomes are 'preposterous'.

They alleged, "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has spent Rs 46 crore on getting the exit polls and surveys project a landslide verdict in favour of the NDA, knowing that the electorate has rejected it during the six-phase polls."

Sharma and Chandravanshi told reporters that LJP supremo Ram Vilas Paswan had written to the Election Commission last week, demanding that it conduct the counting of votes in a free, fair and transparent manner.