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Gill summoned from US

Chief Election Commssioner M S Gill has been asked to cut short his stay in the US and he is expected to be in New Delhi tomorrow, sources said tonight.

Dr Gill was scheduled to return home in the first week of May.

The Election Commission has, however, not taken any initiative in view of the speculation about a mid-term poll.

Meanwhile, Election Commissioner G V G Krishnamurty held discussions with President K R Narayanan. The Commission will require six weeks' time to conduct elections after the Lok Sabha is dissolved, the sources said.

Under the Constitution, if the Lok Sabha is dissolved, a new House must be constituted within six months. The 12th Lok Sabha had its last sitting on April 22 and the 13th Lok Sabha must be constituted by October 22.

Dr Krishnamurty is understood to have given his assessment about holding a mid-term poll, if it is necessary.

Sources said the main factors, which would be taken into consideration before finalising the poll schedule, if ordered, would include availability of manpower for conducting elections, security personnel and the weather.

The monsoon is likely to be a major hurdle in the holding of a mid-term poll between May and July. The monsoon will hit the Kerala coast towards the end of May and spread to the other parts of the country by mid-June.

During this period, the higher reaches of several hill states remain cut off from other parts of the country.

In July, the Gangetic plains are flooded. Most parts of the country remain water-logged. The Election Commission, therefore, is unlikely to hold elections during this period, the sources said.

Besides the anticipated mid-term poll to the Lok Sabha, assembly elections are due in Goa (in August) and nine other states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar later this year.

However, there should not be any problem in holding elections within the stipulated time-frame as envisaged in the Constitution, the sources said.

UNI

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