The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Sunday, April 1, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

M A I N N E W S

Poll in TN, WB on May 10
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 31
The Election Commission today announced a one-day Assembly poll in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Pondicherry on May 10.

Counting of votes will take place on May 13, Chief Election Commissioner Dr M.S. Gill told newspersons here.

A notification will be issued on April 16 and the last date of filing nominations was April 23, he said.

Scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on April 24 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature will be April 26, Dr Gill, who was flanked by the two Election Commissioners Mr J.M. Lyngdoh and Mr T.S. Krishnamurthy, said.

The Model Code of Conduct will come into force from April 1, 2001 in all the States and the union territory going to polls, he said.

“This (Model Code) will be applicable to all political parties and to the State and Central Governments,” he said adding “in terms of the policy already in operation the Model Code of Conduct will apply to the whole of the district in which the whole or part of any Assembly constituency or Parliamentary constituency going for byelection is included.”

While the tenure of the Tamil Nadu Assembly ends on May 21, that of Kerala concludes on May 28. The tenure of assemblies of West Bengal and Pondicherry expires on June 9 and Assam on June 11.

After taking all relevant factors into consideration, the Commission had decided to use Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in all the Assembly constituencies in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry, Dr Gill said.

In Assam, EVMs will be used for the first time and accordingly taking the special situation therein, four Assembly Constituencies - Jalukbari, Dispur, Guwahati (East) and Guwahati (West) - have been selected for experimental use.

Referring to a case filed by the AIADMK in Chennai High Court against use of EVMs in Tamil Nadu, the Chief Election Commissioner said “We defended ourselves...and at no stage we have had any legal constraint on the use of EVMs. We are going ahead with the use of EVMs in Tamil Nadu too.”

He further stated that on the basis of positive experience gained on the use of EVMs since 1998, the Commission took up the issue of a regular expansion of the EVMs in the country and the Union Cabinet sanctioned Rs 150 crore in this Financial Year, under which the Bharat Electronics Limited and the ECIL have manufactured about 1.34 lakh machines.

Dr Gill said the Commission had already instructed the chief electoral officers of the States going to polls to strictly adhere to the procedures relating to storage and safety arrangements.

“Safety of the EVMs will be ensured the manner in which the Reserve Bank of India ensures safety for currency notes,” he said.

In order to ensure that no voter whose name is in the Electoral Roll is handicapped, compulsory identification of the voters will be a must through the Photo Identity Cards or through appropriate alternative methods for the identification of genuine voters, he said.

“While Photo Identity Cards have been issued to almost all voters in Kerala, West Bengal and Pondicherry, over 75 per cent voters are in possession of the election cards in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

“In order to ensure that no voter is, however, handicapped, if his name figures in the Electoral Rolls, the Commission under separate order is allowing additional alternative methods of identification for each state,” Dr Gill said.

Asked whether the Commission was confident of holding a one-day poll in the militancy-hit Assam, Dr Gill said “We are confident of conducting a one-day poll there.”

To a question on how much central force the Centre had agreed to sanction for the smooth conduct of polls in these states, Dr Gill, refusing to divulge the number of companies, said “adequate forces”.

The Commission has also decided to hold byelections to three Parliamentary constituencies - Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu (vacant due to death of P.R. Kumaramangalam), Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh (vacant due to death of Jitendra Prasada) and Midnapore in West Bengal (due to death of Indrajit Gupta) and a Assembly constituency Kshetrigao (in Manipur) on May 10.

Assembly byelections to Banamalipur constituency in Tripura will be held on May 11.

So far as the pending byelection for the Lok Sabha seat of Sabarkantha in Gujarat, on considering the representations received in the aftermath of the Gujarat earthquake, the Commission in order not to disrupt relief and rehabilitation in the state, has decided to defer this byelection to a later date, Dr Gill said.