One of India’s largest selling Hindi daily, Dainik Jagran, flouted the election code of conduct when it released the results of an exit poll on February 11, Saturday. The first phase of Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections across 73 seats ended around 5 pm and Dainik Jagran released its report declaring Bharatiya Janata Party as ‘numero uno’ at 7:38 pm. In January this year, the Election Commission banned exit polls from being conducted between from February 4 and March 8.

Dainik Jagran stated in the report that it interviewed “38 sampled Assembly constituencies which went into the poll [sic] on February 11.” It also claimed that it interviewed 15 voters coming out of each sampled constituencies. According to its results, BJP would emerge as a winner in Uttar Pradesh in the first phase, followed by Bahujan Samaj Party. It has pulled down the report from its website. Newslaundry was unable to get Dainik Jagran Editor-in-Chief to comment on why the website pulled down the survey.

According to The Hindu, the Election Commission has taken cognizance of the report and has asked the UP Chief Electoral Officer to look into it urgently.

Update:

The Election Commission of India has ordered the District Election Officers of all the districts that went to poll in the first phase to lodge a first information report against Dainik Jagran. The commission has directed the FIR to be filed against the managing director of Resource Development International, managing editor and editor-in-chief of Dainik Jagran, among others, under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code.