The ruling AIADMK has expressed the hope that it will retain power in Tamil Nadu when votes polled in the Assembly election are counted on Sunday, contrary to exit polls predicting a clear victory for the DMK.
In a joint statement, AIADMK coordinator O. Panneerselvam and co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Friday said the party had not been disturbed by the exit polls, broadcast by some media houses. The information the party leadership received from across the State suggested that it would retain power, they said.
The two leaders said some opinion and exit polls released during the 2016 Assembly poll had not predicted the party’s victory, but had said that the opposition parties would win. “However, within a few hours of the counting of votes, we witnessed party candidates leading in several constituencies and eventually we secured a majority to form the government under Puratchi Thalaivi Amma [former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa],” they added.
The exit polls that predicted a victory for the DMK were nothing but an attempt to demoralise the AIADMK’s counting agents, they said. The leaders instructed the agents to stay vigilant during counting and insisted that they remain at the centres until the whole process is completed.
