Poll for four states on November 25
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 26 — The Election Commission today announced one-day polling for constituting assemblies in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram on November 25. The counting of votes will be on November 28.

The term of the assemblies in these States is expiring between December 9 and December 27.

Releasing the election schedule, the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr M.S. Gill, said the notification will be issued on October 30, the last date for filing nominations by November 6, withdrawal by November 7, and counting on November 25. The entire election process would be completed by December 4.

The commission also announced simultaneous by-elections for one Lok Sabha seat from Gujarat and seven assembly seats, one each in Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Punjab and West Bengal, where vacancies are existing.

These include the Broach Parliamentary constituency, where a vacancy arose following the death of Mr Chandubhai Deshmukh.

The vacancies in the assemblies include Baijnath (Himachal Pradesh), Adampur (Punjab), Udharbond (Assam), Seohar (Bihar), Mongoya (Nagaland), Agra East (UP), and Namdampur (West Bengal). Vacancies in Punjab and HP arose due to the deaths of Mr Sarup Singh and Mr Sant Ram, respectively.

The Model Code of Conduct will come into immediate effect in Delhi, MP, Rajasthan and Mizoram and the districts in which the parliamentary and assembly constituencies by-elections are being held.

The Election Commissioner, Mr G.V.G. Krishnamurthy, said the elected government in these four states had 4 years and 10 months for it to do work. He said while routine development work could go on, there could be no new announcements or policy decisions.

The Model Code of Conduct would be applicable to all political parties and the state and union governments, the commission said.

Since a large number of public functions are scheduled to be held on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the commission urged that those organising the functions in areas where the code is applicable should ensure that celebrations and public functions are confined to paying homage.

"This solemn occasion should not be turned into an opportunity for making political speeches or announcing new schemes, whose only aim will be to disturb the level playing field between contesting parties and candidates.

Dr Gill also announced a ban on opinion polls 48 hours before the commencement of polling while there will be no bar on exit polls, a practice that was put into effect during the 1998 general election.

Mr Krishnamurthy said nearly 83 million electorate will be involved in these elections. He said the turnout during the 1996 general election was 58 per cent which grew by 4 per cent in the 1998 Lok Sabha poll.

The commission also announced that in 16 selected assembly constituencies, electronic voting machines will be used.

They are Gwalior, Lashkar East, Laskhar West, Bhopal South and Bhopal North in Madhya Pradesh covering 1149 polling stations.

Hawa Mahal, Johribazar, Kishanpole, Ajmer East (reserved) and Ajmer covering 1070 polling stations in Rajasthan and six in Delhi including Sarojini Nagar, Gole Market, Minto Road, Kasturba Nagar, Jangpura and the Delhi cantonment covering 711 polling stations are the others.

The commission said these constituencies have been selected, keeping in view their compact urban character and the relatively higher level of literacy in these areas.

The commission also announced allocation of broadcast/telecast time on Doordarshan and All India Radio for recognised national and state-level parties in these four states.

Poll schedule
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Sept 26 — The following is the election schedule for the assemblies of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Mizoram and by-elections in Gujarat and seven assemblies:

Issue of notification : October 30

Last date for filing nominations : November  6

Scrutiny of nominations : November  7

Withdrawal of candidatures : November  9

Date of poll : November 25

Counting of votes : November 28

Completion of poll process : December 4

SAD to insist on 10 seats
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, Sept 26 — The Shiromani Akali Dal, will put pressure on its political ally — BJP — to allocate at least 10 seats in Delhi and the adjoining state of Rajasthan to the party for the ensuing assembly elections in November. During the last General Election, the SAD had made a similar request which was turned down by the BJP.

With the re-induction of Mr Avtar Singh Hit, a close confidant of Mr Parkash Singh Badal into the Sikh Panth today, the Delhi unit of the SAD, which has remained in abeyance for the past five years, is likely to be revived shortly. Mr Hit, who headed the Delhi unit of the party before his ex-communication, is almost certain to be re-elected its chief.

Mr Hit and Mr Atma Singh Lobana, member of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, who were ex-communicated on June 16 in connection with the beating of Bibi Darshan Kaur, a key witness in the case against former Union Minister HKL Bhagat, were re-inducted into the Panth after completion of "tankhah" today.

Mr Hit said here today that if the BJP did not allocate at least 10 seats to the SAD, the party should contest the elections on its own. He alleged that the BJP had done "practically nothing" to safeguard the interests of Sikhs after coming to power with active support of the community". He said the revival of the Delhi unit of the SAD was the need of the hour when assembly elections were round the corner.

Mr Hit was flanked by Mr Kuldip Singh Bhogal, a former general secretary and Mr Mohinder Singh Matharu, a former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Mr Kuldip Singh appealed to party president Parkash Singh Badal to re-appoint Mr Hit as president of the Delhi unit. He said the party should stake its claim to at least 10 seats out of a total of 70 in Delhi.

Mr Kuldip Singh lamented that the BJP government in Delhi had not appointed an Akali leader to an important post in the administration in the past five years.

"In the last assembly poll the Sikh voted in large numbers for them (BJP), but now we are a disillusioned lot as our demands have not been acceded to", he claimed.

Mr Hit said the Rs 1,000 monthly pension for old Sikh widows of the 1984 carnage had been withdrawn by the BJP.

The Akali leaders said they would meet Mr Badal shortly in this regard.

In Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan, Punjabis, especially Sikhs are in dominance in at least seven assembly seats. At several other seats, they have the capacity to tilt the balance.

The BJP is likely to go slow on the issue of Udham Singh Nagar in view of the ensuing assembly elections in Delhi where Punjabis constitute a major vote bank.