EC meeting on JK polls timing evokes divergent views

NEW DELHI: Political parties on Monday voiced divergent views at meetings with the Election Commission to decide on the timing of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls.

While BJP and the Left parties demanded that elections be held on schedule by November end, the NCP and Panthers Party wanted delimitation to be done first before finalising the date. Congress, however, steered clear of the issue leaving it to the EC to decide the timing.

BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters after the meeting that the party favoured elections to be held in October-November.

"Even in 2002 the situation was very bad, but still the elections were held in the state," he pointed out.
CPI National Secretary D Raja and CPI(M) politburo member Ramachandran Pillai echoed similar views that elections should be held on time.

"But the EC should ensure free and fair polls," Raja said.

Congress, which sent a big delegation including Union Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan, PCC chief Saifuddin Soz and former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad left it to the EC to decide the date.

"We will cooperate whatever the dates the EC decides," Chavan and Soz said. NCP and Panthers party, however, demanded that delimitation of the constituencies should be done first before finalising the dates.

The EC elicited the views of leaders of different parties separately.