The Election Commission on Monday issued orders to Returning Officers of 15 Uttar Pradesh districts, in which the first phase of Assembly elections were held on February 11, to lodge separate criminal cases against the managing director of Resource Development International (RDI) and the Chief Editor of Hindi daily Dainik Jagran on charges of conducting and publishing an “exit poll”. The cases will be registered under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, read with Section 126A and B of the Representation of the People Act that attracts up to two years’ imprisonment.
“The Commission has directed that the district election officers of each of the districts covered under the first phase of poll shall immediately file FIR against the Managing Director and/or such other authorities of RDI and Dainik Jagran including the Managing Editor/Editor in Chief/Editor/Chief Editor of the newspaper under Section 188 of IPC read with Section 126A and 126B of RP Act, 1951,” the Commission in its letter to Returning Officers of 15 districts of UP said. The Commission also reminded the Chief Electoral Officer VK Singh that the “offence under Section 126A is punishable by imprisonment for a term upto 2 years or with fine or both.” 73 constituencies in 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh went for assembly polls in phase one on February 11.
As per the Commission’s directions, exit polls cannot be conducted and publicised by means of print and electronic media or dissemination in any other manner starting from February 4, 2017 at 7 am to March 8, 2017 at 5.30 pm. The exit poll was conducted by RDI and was carried by Hindi daily newspaper recently. The newspaper with the largest circulation published the “public feedback” on the first phase of Uttar Pradesh elections for 73 Assembly constituencies held on February 11, showing that the BJP was projected to bag the most seats. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) stood second, while the SP-Congress combine stood third in the “public feedback” survey.