ECI bans exit polls in Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir during election period

Ahead of the legislative assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a notification regarding the publication of exit polls during the election period.

In a notification dated September 3, the ECI stated that any publication of exit polls related to these elections, whether through print, electronic media, or any other form of dissemination, will be prohibited from 7 a.m. on Wednesday, September 18, until 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 5.

The notice further mentioned that displaying any election-related content, including the results of opinion polls or any other poll surveys, on electronic media, will be prohibited during the 48 hours leading up to the conclusion of the polls.

Voting for the 90-member legislative assembly in Haryana will take place on October 5, with the last date for filing nominations set for September 12.

Jammu and Kashmir has 90 assembly constituencies, with 7 seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 9 for Scheduled Tribes (STs). According to the Election Commission of India, Jammu and Kashmir has 88.06 lakh eligible voters. In the previous assembly elections, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 25, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (NC) won 15, and Congress took 12 seats.

These upcoming elections will be the first in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. Polling in Jammu and Kashmir will be conducted in three phases on September 18, 25, and October 1.

On August 31, the Election Commission of India (ECI) revised the polling date for the Haryana Assembly elections from October 1 to October 5 and rescheduled the counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana assemblies from October 4 to October 8.