Elections are that time of the year when news channels get excited, particularly when it's overstretched with protests all around. While counting of votes is already under way for Jharkhand Assembly polls, a leading news channel mistook Jharkhand for Chhattisgarh.
A Twitter user, Tanmaya Nanda, tweeted a screenshot of NDTV news channels, which says, "Live Coverage: Chhattisgarh Assembly Election." The Twitter user, said, "NDTV, why the hell is your channel listing showing 'Live Coverage: Chhattisgarh Assembly Elections"??? This is classic North Indian ignorance of states beyond UP."
Media has been playing a key role during elections. The media in India has a glorious tradition of safeguarding the democratic rights of her people and exposing all kinds of injustices and inequities by playing the role as a watchdog of democracy. But sometimes in excitement news channels tend to make goof ups.
The counting of votes for 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats began at 8 am on Monday in all the 24 district headquarters amid tight security. The state went to polls for 81 Assembly seats in five phases from November 30 to December 20.
The results will determine the fate of the Raghubar Das-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state. If initial trends in Jharkhand elections are anything to go by, the BJP appears to be losing yet another state after letting four key states slip away from its kitty in the last one year. Early trends show the BJP is tipped to get 27 while the Jharkhand Multi Morcha-Congress-RJD alliance is slated to get 43 seats. The majority mark is 41.
