Know Your People’s Pulse
A leader should know what his people are. They are what they think, feel and decide. The leader doesn’t know whether they are in his/her favour or not much before they deliver their verdict. Public mood too has its own swings. Emotive issues may crop up weeks or months before they exercise their franchise. Unless the leader know his/her people’s pulse he/she can’t strategize campaign.
Knowing public pulse is a proven branch of knowledge by name Psephology. Opinion polls and exit polls are the handiwork of psephologists.
Satish Chandar, an eminent editor and a psephologist, has been conducting polls surveys since 1994. Here is his proven track record:
Opinion Poll before 1994 Assembly Polls: Prediction of NTR’s Come Back
After NTR’s agonising wait of five years as the leader of opposition to recapture power, NTR was seeking public verdict in Assembly Polls 1994 in the then composite Andhra Pradesh. But he had declared Lakshmi Parvathi as his legally wedded wife in one of his campaign meetings. She accompanied him in the rest of the campaign. Media seriously doubted she could be a liability and adversely affect his electoral prospects.
As the editor of Suprabhatam, a leading Telugu Fornightly, Satish Chandar conducted a pre-poll survey, predicted NTR’s victory and declared the list of winning candidates from each constituency with the likely margins
Pre-poll Survey in 1996 General Elections: The Rout of Lakshmi Parvathi Party Foreseen
As the founder(associate) editor of Vaartha, it was he who predicted the waterloo of Lakhsmi Parvathi’ faction of Telugu Desam much against the stand taken by the management. (Vaatha had campaigned in his favour). This survey turned out be a face-saving one to the newspaper.
Opinion on Poll in 1999 Parliament and Assembly Elections: The Impact of Kargil Factor
As the Director, A.P.College of Journalism, he with his trained students of journalism rightly foresaw that the outcome of Kargil War would help BJP. He observed that the truck with BJP would help TDP win in the composite state.
Public Mood before 2004 Assembly Polls: Impact of Naxal’s Vain Attempt on Chandra Babu’s Life.
While the major section of the Media was predicting that the sympathy factor after the Naxal’s attack on the then CM, Chandrababu Naidu that left him injured, would work in his favour, Satish Chandar, as the Chief Editor of Andhra Prabha Daily, proved it wrong with his wrong and predicted Naidu’s defeat with his survey
A trusted name in Media in the two Telugu States in conducting surveys is Satish Chandar. Most recently he set up a unique institution, Indian Institute of Political Leadership(IIPL) to train Political Leaders.