EC bans opinion and exit polls ahead of Oct 13 Assembly polls
New Delhi:
Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday prohibited
dissemination of results of opinion and exit polls regarding the State Assembly
elections to be held in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday
(Oct.13). The ban period comes into effect from Sunday (Oct.11) three o'clock
in the afternoon and will last till the end of polling on Tuesday (Oct.13) at
five o'clock in the evening, the Election Commission stated on Saturday in a official
release. The EC has stated that as per the Supreme Court guidelines, in case of
a single phase election, result of opinion and exit polls carried out at any time,
could not be published, publicised or disseminated in any manner during the period
of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for conclusion of poll. The hour fixed
for conclusion of poll in Arunachal Pradesh and in some constituencies of Maharashtra
is 3 p.m. whereas in Haryana, the hour fixed for conclusion of poll is 5 p.m.,
the release stated. The poll campaigning for over month-long exercise concludes
on Sunday.
