'Psephology' - by K J S Chatrath

With the announcement of the dates of next General Elections in India, the Model Code of Conduct for Political Parties has come into force. This means that no one can come out with Opinion Polls. In a way it putting the psephologists in cold storage, or, as one would say in Hindi ठंडा बस्ता।

Let us go back one hundred years and see how 'The Hindu' dated 26th March 1919 had explained the etymology of this word: 'Psephology is a branch of political science devoted to the study of elections and voting patterns. It is derived from the Greek word psephos, which means pebbles. Ancient Greeks used to vote by dropping pebbles into jars)…. ….'.

Psephologists would be back as soon as the voting ends....