Okay: what’s wrong with an on-the-spot exit poll when politicians campaign while voting is in progress? Last Tuesday, on election day in Punjab, we visited the state at lunch time. On NDTV 24x7, we met SAD’s Parkash Singh Badal after he had cast his ballot. He claimed his party would win three-fourths of the seats in the Assembly and went on to condemn the sitting Congress government for every conceivable problem. Simultaneously, on CNN-IBN, CM Amarinder Singh declared, “I have no failures” and enumerated his achievements.

If this is not free campaigning, what is?

Politicians are not shy of exaggerated claims, either. Exit polls on Star, NDTV and CNN-IBN predicted a neck-to-neck in Punjab, so why boast, as Badal did on TV, of a resounding victory? By the way, it was wonderful to watch Dorab Sopariwalla who made a welcome return to NDTV’s poll fortune-telling team.

Should we welcome or bemoan the resurrection of Dean Jones, “terrorist” cricketer? He was an expert analyst on Neo Sports’ coverage of the India-Sri Lanka matches. Mistakenly, we believed he had been excommunicated from television because of his “racist” remarks against South African Muslim player Hashim Amla. Jade Goody, there’s hope for you yet.

Neo Sports telecast of the one-day series against West Indies and Sri Lanka has been good, although, occasionally, the poor anchor tripped up his tongue on his shoelaces: we now go straight to Vizag but before that we will take a commercial break (a rather circuitous straight line, right?)... let’s join the action on the field, where the captains are tossing (where do they think they are — in bed?). Okay, okay, let’s not be petty or quibble.

While we’re feeling generous, let’s praise the Grammy’s (Star World). The performances were wonderful, the presenters brief, the winners warm and the show must-watchable.

Unwatchable was Koffee with Karan (Star World). The first episode with Johar, Shah Rukh, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee saw Kajol giggle insanely and hit whatever she could of Shah Rukh, Shah Rukh hit at Aamir Khan, Rani refuse to hit Kajol and Shah Rukh in the teeth of overwhelming temptation and Johar hit back — but always made sure he missed Shah Rukh. It was juvenile with private jokes, barbs, inane puns (Johar: “we’ll be back with the king and queens, and I am not one of them”) and silly questions none of which told us anything about the actors other than whom they liked (themselves). This was tabloid TV at its worst. We expect better from Karan Johar (why?) but it got worse with Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra, last Sunday, who had nothing to say anybody wished to hear.