EC wants Centre to ban poll opinion of Bihar

The Election Commission has requested the Centre to ban publication of opinion polls on the Bihar Assembly elections through an ordinance.

In a letter to the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, the EC said, ”It is extremely desirable that the law on the subject is amended urgently by issuing an ordinance, to put an immediate ban on opinion polls.”

“Such a restriction would be in the wider interest of free and fair elections as such opinion polls often tend to cause prejudicial effect on the minds of electors,” the EC said.

Poll Panel Secretary K F Wilfred said ”the Commission is of the considered view that the conduct of opinion polls and dissemination of results of such polls should be prohibited right from the day of the first notification of an election till the completion of polls in all the phases.”

The EC said it has observed that different agencies connected with electronic and print media are at present conducting opinion polls in the context of the Assembly elections and some of them have even published the result of such polls.

Polling for first phase of the six-phase Oct-Nov Bihar Assembly elections began on Thursday and counting of votes will be taken up on Nov 24.