Dear Editor,
I am penning these short notes to inform readers that so-called pollster, Vishnu Bisram, got it badly wrong in Trinidad on the UNC elections. Before we go to that, we need to remind readers that Mr Annan Boodram, who lives in New York where Mr Bisram resides, explained to readers that Bisram, a teacher, leaves over the weekend to conduct his polls, and returns to teach on Monday morning. The least said of that the better, and unapologetically, I say anyone who believes this explanation is foolish.
Now to Bisram’s poll. He wrote that his poll showed the contestants in the following way – Panday leading the flock with 38 per cent, Lawrence Maharaj with 27 per cent and Kamla Persad-Bissesar with 23 per cent. No need to mention who won, but to state that the first two were devastated by the last name. How can a pollster get it so wrong? Well he did it in Grenada where he put the incumbent party as having a landslide. In fact, it was the opposition that got the landslide.
I worked in Grenada so I have friends there. They told me that there was no one by the name of Vishnu Bisram who was in Grenada conducting a survey. What is the answer? Mr Bisram has been carrying on with his so-called poll for so long that he never felt he would have been exposed. Our elections are coming up and the business community should fund a survey through the University of Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon