Calling it an exercise in audacity, Congress leader Pawan Khera refused to comment on early trends showing BJP, Congress in the lead in Bengal and Kerala, respectively.
"Would not be so audacious as to to start commenting on such early trends. For any responsible political being or activist, we need to wait for a couple of hours in order to analyse and start talking about it. These are trends, not results," Khera, who appeared on NDTV days after securing anticipatory bail in connection with an FIR lodged over his alleged remarks against Assam Chief Minister Himanta Sarma's wife, said when asked about the BJP's lead in Bengal.
The BJP, for whom Bengal remains Mission Impossible, is leading in 181 seats, while the Trinamool is at 110 at 11 am.
When told that the Congress-led United Democratic Front, or the UDF, is leading in Kerala, the Congress leader remained stoic in his approach.
"Too early to celebrate or moan," Khera, sporting a grey beard, said nonchalantly.
"As I said these are very early trends. I would not as a responsible political worker comment either on the so-called victory or the so-called defeat," 57-year-old Khera, who is the head of Congress' Publicity Department, maintained.
In Tamil Nadu, Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, or TVK, making its poll debut, is leading in 110 seats at 11 am, in a big surprise. The DMK has been pushed to the third spot. If the trend holds, it will also break the duopoly of the two major Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK, in the southern state.
"Post-mortems are not done on living creatures. Right now, the results are living, they are not dead yet. These are trends, not results yet," the Congress leader repeated yet again when asked if his party made a bad move by not aligning with Vijay's party and if it will recalibrate its Dravidian choice.
"Let's not indulge in any post-mortem please," he said further.
The Congress leader was non-commital on the mistakes his party made in the lead-up to the polls.
"Trends are something the media should comment upon. I would not indulge itno any comments on trends, whether they are from Kerala, which seems to be going in our favour, or Assam or Bengal," he stated again.
