Soon after the assembly elections for Haryana and Maharashtra concluded on Monday evening, India’s TV channels moved in with lightning speed to broadcast exit polls. Not to be left behind in the game, Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami appeared on his TV screen with 17 guests. Soon, the conversation on social media was not about Republic TV predicting landslide wins for the BJP in Maharashtra and Haryana, but the number of guests hired by Goswami to hold a ‘debate’ programme around the poll predictions in the two key states.
Buoyed by his channel’s favourable predictions for the BJP, Goswami thundered, “Here are my five predictions after today’s exit polls…Prediction one. I stick my neck out on this. The Congress will break up completely between the next three to six months. Prediction two. Top Congress leaders will be quitting now one after the other not just in Maharashtra and Haryana but also in Karnataka, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh… Prediction number three. The Madhya Pradesh government will fall because the BJP will find it extremely easy to make the divided Congress erode at the edges. Prediction four. The NCP will face even deeper investigations on its links with the D-company and Dawood (Ibrahim). And ladies and gentlemen, this last one.. Hear me on this. The year 2024 will see the first simultaneous elections in India.”
However, what he said assumed little significance among Twitterati as they frantically began to share the screenshots of Republic TV screen with 18 individuals including Goswami in the frame. Taking a dig at Goswami and his channel, some mockingly asked the government to declare Republic TV a separate ‘constituency,’ while others concluded that Goswami was busy running a ‘parallel parliament.’
#ExitPoll
Arnab Goswami is running a Parallel Parliament ??
He has More panellists than NDTV viewers!#Arnab pic.twitter.com/AAZEZxFrPF— Varun S J (@Dr_Rain_) October 21, 2019
Other channels have एकजिट पोल
Arnab Goswami have एकजुट पोल pic.twitter.com/2UHUxeDrPR
— Tiilooo 2.0 (@KasamCinemaaki) October 22, 2019
Congratulations Arnab Goswami Batch of 2019 ???? 2024 Election year template in Pic2?? @republic #Arnab #ArnabGoswami pic.twitter.com/YCcjNPDy91
— Rosy (@rose_k01) October 21, 2019
Dear Government, please declare Republic TV a constituency.
Arnab Goswami ?#ExitPollOnRepublic#ExitPoll pic.twitter.com/sDfgE7oDSN— ROHAN MISHRA (@im_rohanmishra) October 21, 2019
Now we know why Arnab Goswami named his channel as Republic ?? #ArnabGoswami #Arnab pic.twitter.com/z5DADdjGRZ
— Rosy (@rose_k01) October 21, 2019
Breaking news.
ECI has filed FIR against Arnab Goswami for interfering in election process. EC say voting in mumbai was low because half of voters were captured in Arnab studio. https://t.co/xFEEfYNfcb— LALIT SHARMA (@LALITSHARMAHP) October 22, 2019
Goswami’s channel predicted 52-63 seats for the BJP in the 90-seat Haryana assembly, while it said that the saffron party will win in the range of 142-147 seats with its ally, the Shiv Sena likely to win 83-85 seats in the 288-seat Maharashtra assembly.