| MUMBAI:
Ahead of the 15th General Elections, CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN-Lokmat announces,
the largest and most credible nationwide opinion poll - 'A Billion Votes'. A poll
that will sense the election mood and looks to find out just who is ahead in the
election stakes and why? The poll will give a detailed state by state analysis
and the big national picture in a week long programming from Feb 16th - 21st across
the three channels. The poll has been conducted by The Centre for Study of Developing
Societies and will reveal the findings from over 20,000 samples from 28 states
spanning over 1280 locations. The findings will be analyzed with a panel of experts
including Rajdeep Sardesai, Yogendra Yadav, Ashutosh, Nikhil Wagle & Diptosh
Majumdar on CNN-IBN, IBN7 & IBN-Lokmat. The
methodology of the poll just before 100 days of election includes Systematic Random
Sampling from all socio-economic groups from the major metros, tier II and tier
III towns with an age groups ranging from 18 to 65 yrs. The
week long programming on CNN-IBN & IBN7 would be divided into three parts.
On 16th Feb the one hour special will look at key issues before the electorate,
the popularity and performance of UPA government and matters related to national
security and livelihood. Starting from 17th to 20th Feb the half an hour special
will focus on key battle ground states across the country. The final one hour
episode on 21st Feb will reveal the shape of the Lok Sabha, projected seats of
political parties and as to who could possibly form the new government. Programming
on CNN-IBN & IBN7 Episode
1 Macro Issues: The one hour special 'A Billion Votes' on CNN-IBN and IBN7 on
16th February at 10 PM will look at broad issues being faced by the electorate
and will gauge which candidate is the most popular among the electorates to become
the next Prime Minister. The show being hosted by Rajdeep Sardesai, Ashutosh,
Dr Yogendra Yadav and Diptosh Majumdar will also discuss the key issues related
to national security, livelihood, voter preferences and the role the Left and
the Third front might play in forming the government. Episode
2 to 5 Micro Issues: The half hour specials on 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th February
at 10 PM will focus on key battle ground states across the country. The first
of the 4 episodes will feature the two key battleground states in the south -
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The following episode will feature Maharashtra,
Gujarat & Karnataka. The trends in the crucial left ruled states of West Bengal
and Kerala will be looked into on Thursday the 19th of February. On Friday 20th
February we will look at the two key Hindi heartland states - Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar. Episode
6 Projections and Results: On 21st February a one hour special at 8 PM will reveal
the possible shape of the 15th Lok Sabha, with a look at how the seats might be
divided among the UPA, the NDA and the Left, or the Third Front.
Rajdeep Sardesai, Editor-in-Chief IBN18 Network said, "The biggest democratic
exercise of the free world will steer the future of a billion people. With 100
days to India's election verdict we bring special programming 'A Billion Votes'
on IBN 18 Network to find out who heads in the election and why."
Ashutosh,
Managing Editor, IBN7 said, "The poll looks to explore the future of Indian
democracy and raises various questions like the kind of government and leaders
people want, and tries to find out the possible answers to some of the challenging
issues being faced by the nation." | 