Exit polls can neither be held nor disseminated from 7 am of April 9 till 6.30 pm of April 29 for the five assembly elections taking place this month, the Election Commission has said.

It has also cautioned that conducting or broadcasting exit polls in the period is violative of section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and is "punishable with imprisonment up to a period of two years, or with fine or both".

While Kerala, Assam and Puducherry going for assembly polls on April 9, the electoral exercise will be held in Tamil Nadu on April 23.

In West Bengal, state polls will be held on April 23 and 29.

While the 48 hour 'silence period' in Kerala and Puducherry will commence at 6 pm on Tuesday, it will kick in at 5 pm in Assam.

Silence period means end of campaigning 48 hours ahead of the end of voting hour in a particular constituency or the entire state.

Except door-to-door campaigning by a limited number of party workers or candidate, no other form of campaigning is allowed. But in a digital age, it is difficult to enforce.

Usually voting is held from 7 am to 6 pm. But the timing varies due to terrain and security situation.

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