Hyderabad: The Election Commission has banned the conducting of exit polls and publishing or publicising on print and electronic media during the period between 7 am on April 11 and May 19.
On the directions of the EC, the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Rajat Kumar issued a notification to this effect on Wednesday.
The Election Commission said that the result of any exit poll in connection with the current general elections of the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim, and any by-elections from Assembly constituencies which are to be held simultaneously with LS elections, shall be prohibited.
The EC also banned displaying any election matter including the results of an opinion poll of 48 hours ending within the hours fixed for conclusion of poll in the respective polling areas in connection with general and by-elections.
Meanwhile, the EC has invoked the powers under Article 324 to prohibit the display/exhibit of any biopic/publicity material during the period in which the model code of conduct is enforced. The CEO said that the EC has issued orders on Wednesday prohibiting the display on electronic media including cinematograph of any biopic or publicity material in the nature of biography/hagiography subserving the purposes of any political entity or any individual entity connected to it.
The EC said that it has noticed that there are instances when such political content is displayed on electronic media which may discredit or dismay the electoral prospect of a candidate or a political party. So far, the commission has received complaints against cinemas like Lakshmi’s NTR, PM Narendra Modi and Udyama Simham which have been claimed to either diminish or advance the electoral prospects of a candidate or a political party in the name of creative freedom.
