The Election Commission (EC) has said, exit polls can only be telecast only after the last phase of upcoming Lok Sabha elections gets over. The poll panel has issued an advisory to the media in which websites and social media platforms were included for the first time.
About:
Opinion vs exit polls:
An opinion poll is a pre-election survey to gather voters’ views on a range of election-related issues.
An exit poll, on the other hand, is conducted immediately after people have voted, and assesses the support for political parties and their candidates.
Rules on exit polls:
In multi-phase elections it is prohibited to conduct exit polls from the first phase till the last phase of elections.
After last phase you can conduct an exit poll and publish your result. Then there is no harm in that. This was done with the introduction of Section 126(A) in the Representation of the People Act in 2009.
Arguments in favour of restrictions on exit polls during a multi-phase election:
It can be controversial if the agency conducting them is perceived to be biased.
The projections of these surveys can be influenced by the choice, wording and timing of the questions, and by the nature of the sample drawn.
Political parties often allege that many opinion and exit polls are motivated and sponsored by their rivals, and could have a distorting effect on the choices voters make.
Opposition by Media on ban: Media contends that it violates their fundamental right of free speech and expression.
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