Assembled here are a collection of articles from the mainstream media for your reading pleasure, so to speak. 

Some are plain mischievious, while others are devious, and a few genuinely erroneous. All the same in retrospect they are all hilarious, especially the “profound insights” of the political analysts such as Praful Bidwai and (clueless) poll pundits like Yogendra Yadav and team. One cannot help feeling that these folks’ analysis are heavily clouded by their sickular prejudices and arrogance which prevents them from grasping a basic understanding of the Hindu voters’ mind.

Opinion Pieces
Congress speaks
Polls/Satta/Media Analysis

Opinion Pieces This one takes the cake  –  Modi’s modus operandi failing in Gujarat — Praful Bidwai,  (Indian journalist, political analyst, and activist!!??!), Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates – Dec 14, 2007 

“IS THE tide turning in Gujarat? A month ago, most Gujarat politicians, social scientists, activists, bureaucrats, and citizens agreed on the dead certainty of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the Assembly election – but with a smaller margin.

 Today, they say, the BJP could lose – despite the Congress’s timid campaign. The Congress skirted issues concerning the 2002 violence, didn’t take on the BJP’s “Glorious Gujarat” slogan, or gather the nerve to field more than half-a-dozen Muslims in a state where 20 Muslim MLAs used to get elected. But it might still get catapulted into power. 

All exit polls after the first-phase voting in 87 constituencies (of a total of 182) forecast a vote-swing away from the BJP. NDTV forecasts a loss of 13 seats for the BJP, placing it behind the Congress. Such a defeat will be a seismic shock for the BJP and a historic setback for the Sangh Parivar. LK Advani’s laughable anointment as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate will only aggravate the shock.   Even the party’s assessment is reportedly that it’s sure to win only 63 seats; and optimistically, another 15. The BJP is clearly on a downswing in Gujarat.. ”

Modi’s moment of truth  Yogendra Yadav (political scientist and pollster) Eminent psephologist (??!!), Indian Express, India - Dec 9, 2007
“Democracy is taking revenge on Narendra Modi. This election may well be the long deferred moment of truth for the man who invoked popular mandate to bypass norms, laws or the Constitution. We cannot yet say that he will lose this election. But a journey through Saurashtra is enough to suggest that the BJP is losing ground in this crucial region. “

Why Modi must go

Shiv Visvanathan (The writer is a social scientist currently based in Ahmedabad) The message is simple. Narendra Modi must go. He is bad for BJP, bad for democracy, bad for Gujarat..

Congress Speaks

Sonia’s gloves off: ‘Gujarat run by liars, peddlers of religion and death… 
Indian Express, India - Dec 1, 2007   
“Sachchayee yeh hai ki aj Gujarat ki sarkar chalane wale jhoothe, beimaan aur dharm aur maut ke saudagar hain”

Cong confident, rejects exit poll predictions
Hindustan Times, India - Dec 17, 2007
Exit polls giving the BJP an edge in Gujarat have been dismissed by the Congress. The party exuded confidence of raising its tally substantially and even 

Congress claims to win 110 seats in Gujarat
NDTV.com, India - Dec 15, 2007
”After finishing campaign in towns, villages and streets of Gujarat, we feel that Congress will get about 110 seats in the elections”, Gujarat Pradesh 

If we win we will book Modi: Cong
NDTV.com, India - Dec 2, 2007
The Congress party on Sunday said it would not hesitate in taking action against Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra. 

Get rid of double-faced Govt, says Sonia
Hindustan Times, India - Dec 4, 2007
Maganbhai Patel from Mandvi was confident that the success of the rally proves that the Congress would win all six Assembly seats in Kutch 

Fear in Gujarat dangerous for country: PM
NDTV.com, India - Dec 7, 2007
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked about fear in Gujarat and minced no words as he took on Chief Minister Narendra Modi in his own turf 

PM says no rule of law in Gujarat
Hindustan Times, India - Dec 7, 2007
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh addressed his first election rallies in Gujarat on Friday, lashing out at the BJP government for subverting the rule of law 

Sibal says Modi is anti-development and anti-Gujarat
TopNews, India - Dec 8, 2007
Sibal described Modi as anti-development, anti-Gujarat, anti-people and the man in whose name and at whose behest most of the fake encounters in the state had taken place.

In Gujarat, if you are not with CM, God save you: Manmohan
Times of India, India - Dec 7, 2007
RAJKOT/SURAT: Coming down heavily on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was keeping people in the dark by talking 

Rahul Gandhi attracts huge crowds in his road show in Gujarat
Gujarat Global.com, India - Dec 9, 2007
If crowd is any criteria to judge the success of an event, maiden road show of young Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in diamond city Surat was a great 

Modi Govt a regime of ‘falsehood’: Rahul Gandhi
Hindustan Times, India - Dec 9, 2007
Santosh K Joy, PTI Joining the election campaign in Gujarat for the first time, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday termed the Narendra Modi government as 

Polls/Satta/Media Analysis

Satta rates show Modi slipping
Times of India, India - Nov 25, 2007
AHMEDABAD: Forget opinion polls, which are giving a clear majority to the Narendra Modi-led BJP in Gujarat elections 

Satta bazaar trashes Modi, swings in favour of Cong
CNN-IBN, India – Dec 21, 2007
In a dramatic last-day swing in the satta bazar, bookies there have swung suddenly against Narendra Modi. In fact 24 hours before the vote count, they now give Congress the edge over Modi in the race for power.

In what is seen as a dip in confidence on the BJP in the satta market, the bookies now say there is a positive vote swing towards the Congress. It is, however, not clear if this vote swing will be enough for the Congress to come to power.

Psephologists not sure if Modi in indeed winning – *****must read***   The results of the CNN-IBN-Indian Express-Divya Bhaskar-CSDS Exit poll on Gujarat Assembly Elections are out. Eminent psephologist (“the man who has seen it all”), Yogendra Yadav led the CSDS team which carried out the post-poll survey.

Yogendra Yadav: I would still wait for 23rd to be sure if Mr Modi is indeed winning the elections. The consensus of exit polls is still not the actual outcome.

Modi will scrape through in Gujarat, surveys predict
KalingaTimes, India - Dec 16, 2007
According to a survey conducted by the TV channel NDTV 24×7, the BJP was set to win 90 to 110 seats, while the Congress was tipped to win between 70 and 95 

First round cause for Modi to worry
Times of India, India - Dec 14, 2007
NEW DELHI: The exit polls done for the first phase of elections in Gujarat seem to suggest that BJP will at worst win 13 seats fewer in this phase 

Exit polls predict BJP setback in Phase 1
Hindustan Times, India - Dec 11, 2007
Up to 60 per cent of the registered voters turned out to stamp their choice in the first phase of assembly polls in Gujarat on 

Punters root for a coalition in Gujarat
Times of India, India - Dec 3, 2007
The successful public meetings of Congress president Sonia Gandhi in Saurashtra and south Gujarat is what is said to have brought about 

The Modi poll mystery
Economic Times, India - Dec 10, 2007
Political observers are going only so far as to say Modi might win by a vastly reduced majority this time. It is this paradox which make 

Why good turnout in polls is bad news for Modi   —- Experts give their pseudo views. Must read
CNN-IBN, India - Dec 11, 2007
“So is Saurashtra going to be the region where Modi meets the big defeat? “

“It’s possible. There is a big shift from the BJP stronghold in the region in 1998. From the 56 seats the part won out of 58, it could now go down to even 28-29 seats. Reports now suggest from the ground, that the Kolis, who have come in big numbers to vote, could be an important factor in determining the result. The Saurashtra Kolis are angry and rebellious and that could hurt Modi. The Patels, who have also come out in large numbers, however, seem to be staying with Modi,” said Rajdeep Sardesai.  

BJP worried over poor turnout at poll rallies
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates - Dec 2, 2007
By Mahesh Trivedi (Our correspondent) 

Stunned by poor turnout at public meetings of even bigwigs like BJP leader L.K. Advani, the 51-member election coordination committee of the BJP went into a huddle yesterday to discuss urgent steps to attract crowds.While a powerful orator like Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been addressing three rallies daily, has also failed to draw a wall-to-wall audience, television stars like Smriti Irani who toured Saurashtra yesterday, could rope in only 200 people. As one frustrated BJP leader told Khaleej Times, for the past five years, Modi has used the government machinery and sops to ensure jampacked meetings, giving no chance to the partymen to show their crowd-organising skills with the result that the saffronites have turned lethargic.  In sharp contrast to the lukewarm response at BJP leaders’ speeches, each of Sonia Gandhi’s rallies on Saturday, were a sell-out.  

 IBNlive Chat: Gujarat Elections 2007, beyond Modi
CNN-IBN, India - Dec 10, 2007As Gujarat heads towards polls, CNN-IBN’s Political Editor Bhupendra Chaubey answers questions on everything you wanted to know about Gujarat Assembly Elections 2007 in a live chat on IBNLive. Here is the full transcript of the chat: 

Bhupendra Chaubey: It’s a million dollar question. Honestly I think he is on a weak wicket. The only thing that can really take him past the post is a solid turnout. But how will that happen, given the fact that his own party is against him? 

Bhavesh L Kookani Do you honestly think that IBN has been objective in its Gujarat poll coverage? Isn’t there an obvious anti-Modi/pro-Congress flavour in the reporting? 

Bhupendra Chaubey: Not at all Bhavesh, in fact on the contrary I feel that we have been the only network which has dared to show the actual reality of Gujarat. The reality is that the situation on the ground for an ordinary Gujarati is much better. We have tried to move away from the horror of 2002 and talk about the Gujarat that’s supposed to be a vibrant Gujarat in 2007. 

Interesting Snippet – on Rajdeep Sardesai/ CNN IBN 

 “The English news channels are now obsessed with the Gujarat election. On CNN-IBN they are mindful of the fact that Rajdeep Sardesai made his reputation by trashing Narendra Modi during the Gujarat riots. So the coverage is curiously sympathetic to the BJP, presumably in an effort to demonstrate ‘objectivity’. Times Now has the advantage of the relative anonymity of its anchors and so there’s less baggage to contend with” 

Must read Interview: Compare and Contrast
Blast for the Past Gujarat Elections 2002 – The Rediff Interview Achyut Yagnik,
” I don’t see Hindutva upsurge” Yagnik, who met Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt in Ahmedabad, says there is no Hindutva wave in the state.  What is the ground reality in Gujarat?  Except in central Gujarat and some part of north Gujarat, I don’t find any Hindutva upsurge. In Saurashtra and Kutch, people are not talking about Hindutva. Of course, in urban areas you will find people talking about it. In Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, you will find many people talking anti-Muslim Full article: http://www.rediff.com/election/2002/dec/04inter.htm  

Here  he completely contradicts himself:

“Last time there was a wave. There was the emotive issue of Hindutva. Hindu organisations were out on the streets working for the victory of Modi. This time there was no wave. The voter has been quiet about his preference,” Yagnik said.

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE

 One Birju gives to Yadav, but it is applicable to all these pseudo-sec quacks masquerading as experts.

Birju: Yogendra, your tribe tried hard to project Modiji as losing the election, and now when polling is finally over, you have now knit up stories about how it is Modiji’s win and not BJP’s. You never adopted these lines for other parties, which are Maino or Maya or Mulayam-centric. Your shady role in NCERT syllabus is another proof of your utter bias and double talk. Why don’t you seek retirement from your pseudo talk?

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/psephologists-not-sure-if-modi-is-indeed-winning/54566-3.html