EC presser fuels speculation of early Assembly polls in Haryana

Geetanjali Gayatri

Chandigarh, August 16

The Election Commission of India invite to the media for a press conference to announce the “schedule for general elections to legislative Assemblies” has triggered a fresh round of speculation of an early election in Haryana, though Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has emphatically denied the same.

Chief Minister Saini announced at a press conference in the morning that the Assembly polls will be held as per schedule, though there are indications to suggest that the polls could be announced today. The press conference was slated to announce “speedy compensation” of Rs 2,000 per acre to farmers as “bonus” for increased input costs due to inclement weather and release the first instalment of Rs 525 crore.

Earlier this week, an ECI team visited Haryana and held a meeting with senior officers to assess poll preparedness in the state. Incidentally, Sirsa Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim was granted 21-day furlough on August 13, a day after the ECI meeting.

Sources said that the ECI notice clearly mentions that a poll schedule for “legislative Assemblies” is slated to be announced today. It may be mentioned that Assembly polls are scheduled for October in Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and J and K. However, the ECI has so far visited only J and K and Haryana, increasing the possibility of their election in September itself.

Though the updation of electoral rolls in Haryana is scheduled to end on August 27, Haryana CEO Pankaj Aggarwal said the updation process carries on till the last day of filing of nominations. This, effectively, means that the updation of rolls is not a deterrent in the announcement of Assembly polls in Haryana.

Sources in the government maintained that CM Saini has called a Cabinet meeting on Saturday. It remains to be seen if the meeting will be held, since it will be dependent on the ECI’s press conference.

The sources said that though talks of an early election have been doing the rounds, the state government is keen on getting the Hisar airport inaugurated before the poll schedule is announced. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to be invited for the inauguration of the airport, after which he is expected to address a rally, they added.