Voting in all the five states have concluded, and as we wait for the results to be announced, news channels are busy predicting the results. Some news channels are relying on pollsters and some are asking parrots and tarot card readers. But can anyone actually predict the results? Saurabh Dwivedi, editor, TheLallantop.com, joins us on Hafta this week. Dwivedi has just returned to Delhi after travelling in Uttar Pradesh and covering as many constituencies as Akhilesh Yadav did. Dwivedi reflects on the ground realities of poll bound states, often ignored by prime time reports. The regular Hafta gang – Abhinandan Sekhri, Deepanjan Pal, Anand Ranganathan & Manisha Pande also discuss Swami Aseemanand’s acquittal in the Ajmer Dargah blast case, Rajeev Chandrashkhar’s temporary injunction notice against stories published in TheWire.in. Everyone weighs in on The Quint’s silence on gunner Roy Mathew’s death and a lot more. Listen up!

For references:

1. A Review of #NLHafta from Sheshank Reddy, Aditya Shanker Prasad and Suraj Prabhakaran
2. Caravan: The Believer
3. Newslaundry: Two Possible Ends: Prof GN Saibaba’s Story
4. Time: What My Week of Jury Duty Taught Me About Race
5. Newslaundry: Women In The Newsroom: ‘Let There Be More Solidarity’
6. Poets.org: Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing
7. Newslaundry: Gunner Roy Mathew’s Death Raises Serious Questions That The Quint Must Answer
8. Newsscientist.com: Neanderthals may have medicated with penicillin and painkillers

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