The high-stakes electoral battle in Andhra Pradesh has at last come to an end and the fate of the political parties is sealed in the electronic voting machines.
The political parties are relaxed and the voters are relieved, after witnessing such an intense battle. But the media houses who made a merry of the electioneering for the last two months are not.
With the Election Commission of India strictly banning the exit polls in any form, direct or indirect, by the media houses, including on their digital media and social media platforms, they have no substance to keep the momentum of elections alive for the next three weeks.
So, they have started airing fake exit polls for the last few hours.
As top media houses in Andhra Pradesh are affiliated one political party or the other, they are churning out fake exit polls in the name of their rival channels, only to
One media house which is blatantly close to the Telugu Desam Party has dished out a fake survey on social media in the name of its rival channel, which is known for its pro-Jagan stand, stating that the NDA alliance will get anywhere between 125-135 assembly seats and 18-21 Lok Sabha seats, whereas the YSRCP will end up with 35-52 assembly and 4-7 Lok Sabha seats.
Obviously, this is to create an impression among the people that a pro-Jagan channel itself has conceded defeat for the YSRCP and predicted that Naidu will come to power. So, it is credible.
On the other hand, a prominent pro-YSRCP also circulated a fake news video with the logo of a pro-TDP channel on social media, stating that YSRCP is going to sweep the polls once again with around 140 assembly seats. It also said TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu left for Hyderabad in a dejected mood.
More and more such fake propaganda will continue to storm the social media in the coming days. But in any case, it is not going to change the verdict of the people now, as the polling is over. It will only help the rumour mills running till the actual results are disclosed!
