"Complete ban on exit polls from April 19 till June 1," says Himachal's Chief Electoral Officer

SHIMLA: Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Himachal Pradesh Maneesh Garg on Tuesday said that to ensure free and fair elections, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced a complete ban on exit polls from April 19 till June 1.

"A complete ban on conduction of any type of exit poll from 7 AM on 19 April to 06:30 PM on June 1, 2024," said the Chief Electoral Officer.

"This step has been taken given General Elections to Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim and bye-election to 25 Assembly constituencies in 12 States," Chief Electoral Officer stated.

He further added that during this period publication or publicity of exit polls through print or electronic media would be strictly prohibited.

Earlier on Monday, Chief Electoral Officer Maneesh Garg on Monday announced that April 1st will now serve as the qualifying date for individuals who have reached the age of 18 years, allowing them to register themselves as voters.

As per the revised guidelines, citizens who turn 18 on the 1st of January, April, July, or October will now have the opportunity to enrol on the voters' list four times a year.

The changes have been made by the ECI to facilitate the first voters to get themselves enrolled in the voter list four times a year to exercise their right to franchise during the elections.

Notably, the Lok Sabha elections are scheduled to be held across seven phases, starting April 19. The counting of votes is scheduled for June 4.

The elections to the four Lok Sabha seats of Himachal Pradesh and bypolls to the six assembly constituencies that fell vacant with the disqualification of six rebel Congress MLAs and their eventual switch to the BJP will be held on June 1.