TV channel clarifies poll showing BJP majority in BMC elections fake, did overzealous workers cook up fake poll?

Leading Marathi news channel ABP Majha has debunked a fake opinion poll being carried under its name, which showed BJP winning 107 seats out of the total 227 in the upcoming BMC elections.

The fake poll was shared on Twitter by a handle allegedly associated with the BJP’s south Mumbai unit and on Facebook by the party’s nominee from ward 149, Susham Sawant.

The poll showed BJP winning 107 seats in the upcoming civic body elections in the city, with Shiv Sena managing a tally of 76 seats, Congress 18, MNS 13, NCP 9 and others winning the remaining four seats.

The polls are scheduled on February 21.

As soon as the opinion poll results were shared online, workers of BJP’s former alliance partner Shiv Sena started digging up the details, only to find that the channel had not carried any such survey.

The channel also responded with a clarification of their own, with their editor Rajiv Khandekar claiming that the poll in question was fake.

“This seems to be an attempt to confuse the voters and take benefit,” he said, adding that an official clarification has also been issued on the channel and other platforms.

According to one report, another poll had pegged MNS as the leading party in the BMC elections, winning an estimated 117 seats. That too was debunked.

After the TV channel’s clarification, a BJP leader, on the condition of anonymity, said the matter is being investigated internally. The tweet containing the poll result has been deleted as of writing this.

Meanwhile, advocate Dharmendra Mishra has also written to the State Election Commission and demanded action against Susham Sawant for sharing fake poll results and violating the model code of conduct.

In recent times, the advent of social media has given huge impetus to over zealous party workers who often resort to cooking up fake polls and facts with the intention of swaying voters.