New Delhi, February 20
The four-phase polling for the 14th Lok Sabha could be held on April 17, 18 and May 8 and 9, and with the exception of Uttar Pradesh, in other parts of the country polling for the entire state would be held on one day.

While the Election Commission today said the poll schedule would be announced “very soon” keeping into account factors like board examination, festivals, weather conditions and harvesting season, BJP general secretary Pramod Mahajan, who was part of the party’s delegation which met the commission today, said the EC had given indication that the polling would be held on April 17, 18 and May 8 and 9.

Except for Uttar Pradesh, all parties were of the view that polling in a state should be held in one phase, which the commission said it would take into consideration along with the working out of logistics of the movement of security personnel while preparing the poll schedule.

The biggest relief the NDA-led BJP government got was the commission’s view that the model code of conduct comes into effect only after the announcement of the poll schedule.

Opposition parties, mainly the Congress and the Left parties, protested against the “misuse” of tax payers money by the government on the “India Shining” campaign and called for a mechanism to check such “unethical practices”.

EC spokesperson A.N. Jha told newspersons here today that Chief Election Commission T.S. Krishna Murthy had already settled the issue. The CEC, in his maiden news conference, had stated that the code of conduct should be observed even now, even though it came into force only after the announcement of the schedule.

Stating that there would be simultaneous poll for the Karnataka Assembly along with other Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Sikkim, Mr Jha said the commission would use electronic voting machines (EVMs) for the Lok Sabha poll as well as Assembly poll and would deploy 10.75 lakh EVMs for the purpose.

On the apprehension expressed by some of the parties on the EVMs, he said experts’ opinion clearly showed that these machines could not be misused.

Mr Jha said some parties complained that there were certain drawbacks in the electoral rolls and they said no eligible voter should be deprived of his or her voting rights if they did not possess the photo-identity card.

The three-hour meeting at Nirvachan Sadan, the EC headquarters, was convened by the commission to seek the views of the parties and discuss the schedule for the poll and other related issues.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, party representatives expressed satisfaction over the constructive suggestions that emerged at the conclave.

Mr Mahajan said the party also urged the EC to consider the religious events like the harvest season in North India, Kumbh in UP and insurgency in Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand while finalising the schedule.

Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said the party had drawn the EC’s attention towards implementing the model code of conduct and the government’s demand for according “special status” to the Deputy Prime Minister during electioneering, which was “illegal and unconstitutional.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav said the EC should find a mechanism to ensure that money and muscle power was not used during the poll.

Leaders of six national and 48 regional parties were invited to the all-party meet.

With this, the commission has concluded the process of consultation with the state and Central Governments and the deck is now clear to announce the schedule any time.

Meanwhile, the EC has directed the Centre and the state governments to suspend any demolition or eviction drives till the completion of the Lok Sabha poll.

The commission said the demolition drives “would not only vitiate fair and free elections but may even materially affect the result of the elections in the constituency concerned.

“Wherever there are any problems in the implementation of the decision of the commission because of orders issued by any court of law, the government of the state or the Centre, as the case may be, shall bring the matter to the notice of the commission for appropriate directions to ensure due compliance with the court’s orders,” the EC said in a letter to the Cabinet Secretary.

The letter was also addressed to the Home Secretary, Urban Development Secretary, Chief Secretaries of all states and union territories and Chief Electoral Officers of all states and union territories.