New Delhi, February 19
A day before the Election Commission (EC) holds formal consultations with leaders of recognised political parties, the poll panel today asked the Central Government to adhere to the spirit of the model code of conduct even as it had completed the consultation process with all state governments and the Union Government.
“Invitations were sent to six national political parties and 48 regional parties to attend the meeting,” a spokesperson for the commission said.
The six national parties, whose presidents were invited by the commission, are the BJP, Congress, BSP, CPI, CPM and NCP. The regional parties include the Samajwadi Party, AIADMK, Shiv Sena, DMK, Akali Dal and RJD.
The EC has expressed its unhappiness over the violation of the code of conduct. The CEC has said the “India shining” campaign by the NDA government was against the spirit of the code of conduct.
The EC, which held a crucial meeting with Home Secretary Anil Baijal this evening, also asked the Union Government to ensure sufficient deployment of paramilitary forces for the elections. This is the first meeting of the full commission with Mr Baijal.
Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishanamurthy, along with Election Commissioners B.B. Tandon and N. Gopalaswamy were present during the 20-minute meeting.
The commission also sought a plan from the Central Government on the security requirements and the movements at the time of the polling day, besides security for electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the strong room.
The EC wanted that enough security arrangements should be made for the transportation of election materials before and after the polling.
Meanwhile, the government, in view of school examinations, has suggested the EC to conduct the poll after April 15. It also wants that the poll process should be completed by May 5.
The EC has convened the meeting tomorrow to ascertain the views of parties on the conduct of elections and new nomination forms to be used in line with the recent amendments in the Representation of Peoples Act.
