New Delhi: BJP's IT cell chief Amit Malviya today tweeted the date of the Karnataka Assembly polls before the Election Commission announced it, prompting the panel to describe the leak as a "very serious issue" that merited a probe and "stringent action".

Malviya, however, tweeted that he had only quoted a news channel.

His tweet came when Chief Election Commissioner O P Rawat was addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for Karnataka polls but had not announced the date.

The BJP IT cell head said the election would be held on May 12 and counting would take place on May 18.

While he was correct on the polling day, the votes will be counted on May 15.

When Rawat's attention was drawn towards the tweet, he described it as a "very serious issue".