Where pollsters, astrologers fail, industrialist predicts poll outcome

CHANDIGARH: While most of pollsters and astrologers had failed to predict Punjab assembly election outcome, a top notch businessman of Punjab had predicted at least 62 seats for the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP coalition.
“The coalition will return with around 62 seats with BJP winning between 12 and 14 and rest being won by the SAD,” CEO of Drish Shoes Ajay Sharma told The Times of India immediately after the January 30 polling.Ajay Sharma is also director-cum-secretary of Punjab Effluent Treatment Society, a special purpose vehicle of Punjab, handling pollution by the industry in the leather cluster of the country at Jalandhar.
Surprisingly, he is known for not only predicting market trends but even the election result. His prediction has never gone wrong except in the case of the repeat of the Vajpayee government post India Shining campaign. Most shocking was Sharma’s certainty on the number of seats for BJP whom everybody had written off going by the past trend of Congress gaining at the cost of BJP most elections.
Though he refuses to reveal how he arrives at numbers saying it is a “God-gifted gut feeling”, he says there is a link between how much space a political party gives to the genuine voice of the industry and the outcome in Punjab. The issue of the industry also has to be of common interest for all people, not of vested interest of individuals.
There was a change in the attitude of the government in dealing with issues of the industry unlike during the previous government of the same regime, he said.
At least a good number of business class voters saw reason in continuing the government for completing power projects, the biggest concern of the business.
Sharma also had predicted that BJP will be able to retain their hold in the NRI belt and richest belt of Punjab, Doaba.
What was again very interesting for the industry was that the Akalis for the first time just focused on a development agenda creating an impression that continuity may pay off in terms of growth of business in Punjab.
Punjab assembly electionElections 2012