Exit poll confusion: EC first bans, then allows exit polls on 12 May

In a series of events that had the collective hearts of the media beating furiously, the election commission first said that exit polls cannot be telecast till 16 May, keeping in mind repolling, only to later say that they would be allowed after all. Election Commissioner HS Brahma had reportedly said that exit polls cannot be telecast until 16 May, the day of counting on the basis that repolling could take place in some constituencies and exit polls could influence results. However he was overruled by CEC VS Sampath, who said that exit polls could be telecast after 6.30pm on 12 May, Monday, the last day of polling. [caption id=“attachment_1516009” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image[/caption] Media channels usually broadcast exit polls in collaboration with research agencies in order to get an idea of how the vote has swung. This is in addition to the pre poll surveys that were held in the run up to polling. Exit polls were also slated to be an important day for markets as exit poll data could be used as a proxy or foreshadowing of the actual results on 16 May. Investors or traders could have begun acting upon exit poll results from 13 May onwards leading to an impact on the markets. The sensex touched a record high of 23,048 while the Nifty also hit an all time high of 6,871 ahead of the exit polls that were anticipated for Monday. Until now, prepoll surveys have shown the BJP and the NDA to be comfortably leading raising expectations of market rallies in case of an outright rally. The last pre poll survey by NDTV - Hansa in fact predicted 275 seats for the NDA, leading to censure by the election commission over the timing of the telecast, which took place on 12 April, after the nine-phase elections had already begun.