Dehra Dun:  The Election Commission of India has banned exit polls during the entire period when elections to the five state Assemblies would be held.

In a statement here, Chief Electoral Officer, Uttarakhand, Radha Raturi said that in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Act , 1951, the Election Commission of India has notified the period between 7am on January 28, 2012 and 5.30 pm on March 3, 2012 as the period during which conducting any exit poll or disseminating the result of any exit poll would be prohibited.

While January 28 will be the first day of polling in Manipur, March 3 will be the last day of polling in Goa and Uttar Pradesh.

Raturi said that under the provisions, displaying any election matter, including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited.

Tags: Assembly Polls 2012, Assembly elections 2012, Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand elections, West Bengal