Delhi elections: Election Commission directive on exit, opinion polls

New Delhi: The Election Commission has banned the publication and dissemination of exit polls of any kind from 7 am to 6.30 pm on February 7 when Delhi votes for the assembly polls.

The EC also said display of "any election matter" including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey in "any electronic media" is "prohibited during the period 48 hours, including the hour fixed for conclusion of poll (6 pm on February 7)".

This means that opinion polls and surveys cannot be telecast from 7 am of February 5 till 6 pm of February 7.

Using powers under Representative of the People Act, 1951 EC bans exit polls from the time the poll begins till half-an-hour after the polling ends.

The poll panel had proposed that there should be a prohibition on publication and broadcast of the results of opinion polls starting from the date of notification of elections till the completion of the last phase of polls to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

Existing law allows EC to ban opinion polls 48 hours prior to voting.