New Delhi. Today the Election Commission announced the dates of assembly elections in Jharkhand and Maharashtra. Along with this, the dates of by-elections of UP and other states have also been announced. Along with this, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar has given an important statement regarding the election results and exit polls. Raising questions, he said that the counting of votes starts at 8.30 am and the results of the first round are available by 9 am. After this, the first trend is shown on the Election Commission website by 9.30 am. In such a situation, how can trends emerge in the media at 8 am or 8.15 am?
#WATCH Delhi: On Exit Polls, CEC Rajiv Kumar says, “A major distortion is being created due to Exit Polls and expectations set by it. This is a matter of deliberation and introspection for the Press, especially for electronic media. In the last few elections, 2-3 things are… pic.twitter.com/xFZ1tYJnna
— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2024
Rajeev Kumar asked the media and agencies conducting exit polls whether it is the case that an attempt is made to show the exit poll results and first trends as the same? He stressed that when exit poll results and actual election results contradict each other, it creates confusion and dissatisfaction among the public. Appealing to the media and agencies conducting exit polls to introspect, the Chief Election Commissioner said that the role of the Election Commission is to conduct elections in a fair and transparent manner. However, he also clarified that under the law the Election Commission cannot completely ban exit polls.
The Election Commission raised the right question.
Questioning the exit polls and those who told the trends before the counting of votes started on TV in the morning itself is completely justified.
The Election Commission asked that when the counting started in Haryana at around 8.30 in the morning, then how the trends started appearing on TV at 8 o’clock.— Narendra Nath Mishra (@iamnarendranath) October 15, 2024
“Our hands are tied within the ambit of the law,” he said. Despite this, he urged the agencies to consider this discrepancy and take steps towards rectifying it. This statement of the Chief Election Commissioner has come at a time when questions are being raised continuously on the results of exit polls and there is resentment among the public and political parties when the actual election results are contrary to the results.
