NEW DELHI: Election Commission on Tuesday said that Exit Polls for the assembly elections of five states can neither be held nor disseminated from 7 am on April 9 till 6:30 pm on April 29.The poll body said that conducting or broadcasting exit polls in the period is violative of section 126A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 and is punishable with imprisonment up to a period of two years, or with a fine or both.“The move is a standard procedure to ensure fairness and prevent exit polls from influencing voter behavior during the election process.As per the notified schedule, polling in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on April 9, followed by Tamil Nadu on April 23. West Bengal will vote in two phases on April 23 and April 29. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.While the 48-hour ‘silence period’ in Kerala and Puducherry will commence at 6 pm on Tuesday, it will kick in at 5 pm in Assam.Silence period means end of campaigning 48 hours ahead of the end of voting hour in a particular constituency or the entire state.Under Section 126(1)(b) of the Act, the display of any election matter, including opinion poll results, on electronic media will be restricted during the 48-hour silence period before polling ends.Except door-to-door campaigning by a limited number of party workers or candidate, no other form of campaigning is allowed. But in a digital age, it is difficult to enforce.Usually voting is held from 7 am to 6 pm. But the timing varies due to terrain and security situation.
