Parties ask EC not to stretch polling schedule

Major political parties have advised the Election Commission not to stretch general elections too long rather organize in a brief period. Many of them favoured to curb surrogate advertisements and felt use of money and muscle power should be checked properly to ensure free and fair polls.

“The schedule of polling for the Lok Sabha elections should not be held in too many phases.

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It should not exceed at the utmost three weeks,” said the CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury.

Leaders were expressing opinions at an all-party meeting convened by Election Commission on Tuesday. The all-party meeting chaired by CEC and other two Election Commissioners was attended by representatives of seven national and 40 regional political parties. The meeting, first in a series before the general elections, was called to discuss issues related with the Lok Sabha polls due in April-May.

The Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami showed no sign of displeasure Tuesday while going to attend an all-party meeting called by him with his colleague Navin Chawla, rather walked in together smiling and posed for the camera.

The Election Commission will hold a daylong review meeting on Wednesday with chief electoral officers of all the states and union territories where they will take up issues related to electoral roll revision, the status of photo electoral rolls and distribution of Electors Photo Identity Cards.

The Election Commission will further hold meeting later this week on law and order issues with chief secretaries and director generals of police of all the states and union territories. The new Lok Sabha is required to be constituted by 31st May.

This was the first meeting close on the heels of bitter conflict between the Gopalaswami and Navin Chawla when all the three Election Commissioners sat together to plan strategy for the 15th Lok Sabha polls. Gopalaswami had recommended to the President for the sacking of his colleague Navin Chawla, who is considered close to the Congress, accusing him of being partisan.

Meanwhile, the government on Monday came out openly in Chawla’s defence accusing CEC of misusing his position. Law Minister H R Bhardwaj reminded Gopalaswami that he was only first among equals and the CEC has no unilateral power to make recommendations of his colleague’s removal, and cleared that Chawla would be the next head of the autonomous panel.