Election Commission may go for polls in Delhi early next year

NEW DELHI: With fresh polls imminent in Delhi, the Election Commission will have to weigh the feasibility of scheduling elections in December itself or waiting until the revised rolls for 2015 are published on January 5. However, all indications point to the likelihood of a January-end poll, given EC's preoccupation with the ensuing election in Jammu & Kashmir and Jharkhand and the difficult proposition of arranging logistics like central forces, polling personnel and EVM preparation for simultaneous polls in a third state.

Sources hinted that holding Delhi polls separately in end January on a set of revised rolls with January 1, 2015, as the reference date, may be a more practical option.

The commission will, however, come into the picture only after the President approves the Cabinet decision recommending dissolution of the Delhi assembly and writes to the EC to initiate the process of electing a new assembly. As per the Constitution, the EC must hold polls within six months of receiving such instructions.

As soon as a presidential communique notifies dissolution of the Delhi assembly, the EC will first withdraw the notification for November 25 bypolls in three Delhi constituencies of Mehrauli, Krishna Nagar and Tughlakabad. Thereafter, the commission will have to examine if the logistics, including forces, EVMs and polling staff, can be arranged in Delhi soon enough to enable polls in the next one month.

The usual preparatory process ahead of announcing polls - consultations with the state chief electoral officer and returning officers, political parties and the Union home ministry - will have to be followed before the commission takes a final call on poll dates for Delhi. This may take some time, further dimming the chances of a year-end poll.

Sources hinted at the prospects of EC making a poll announcement soon after publication of the revised rolls for Delhi on January 5, with polling most likely to be scheduled in January end. This will ensure that the democratic exercise is completed well ahead of the start of the budget session of Parliament.