Lok Sabha Elections 2024:What are Exit Polls? When are they due? All you need to know

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Lok Sabha Elections 2024 will end with the commencement of last and seventh phase of polling on June 1.Soon after the last vote is polled on June 1, Exit Polls by different agencies will start releasing numbers predicting the anticipated winners and the margin of their victory. The official results will be declared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on June 4, however.

Also Read: BJP-led NDA likely to win Lok Sabha election 2024, says Phillip Capital, recommends over 50 stocks to buyThe predictions are based on voter feedback collected by survey agencies after the polling is over. While the idea behind exit polls is to reflect public sentiment well before the actual results are announced, their accuracy has faced scrutiny in the past.The ECI prohibits conducting exit polls during the voting process but the publication is allowed 30 minutes after the last vote is cast.

As per the rules, exit poll data cannot be released before 6:30 pm on June 1, the last round of polling. This is governed by Section 126A of the Representation of the People's Act, 1951.

"No person shall conduct any exit poll and publish or publicise by means of the print or electronic media or disseminate in any other manner, whatsoever, the result of an exit poll during such period as may be notified by the Election Commission in this regard," reads the Section 126A of the RP Act, 1951. Yet, many TV channels start publishing the exit polls with a different name or title even before the last phase of election is over, perhaps, due to the curiosity around which party could be the possible winner.Any person who contravenes the provisions of the Section 126A shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or