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EC ready for mid-term poll any time: Gill
The Election Commission feels a mid-term poll, if necessary, should be conducted
by the second week of February.
Highly placed EC sources on Sunday said if the 11th Lok Sabha was dissolved,
the election process should be completed by March 15 and the new house constituted before
March 31 so that there was sufficient time for a government to be formed.
"Otherwise
the country will be plunged into a major financial crisis," they said.
The EC held a high level-meeting on Saturday to consider
the possibility and prepare for elections. Chief
Election Commissioner M S Gill, Election Commissioners G V G
Krishnamurthy and B Lyngdoh and other top officials attended
the meeting.
Sources said there was nothing in the
Constitution which prevented the Commission from conducting
polls if needed.
They said the revision of revised electoral rolls was
already in
progress and it was expected to be completed by January 5. While for the other states only
a minor revision was required,
an extensive revision was on in Assam, they
added.
The revision of electoral rolls was
announced in July. The new list would include all individuals who
attain 18 years of age on or before January 1.
Sources said there was no time limit for completing the election process.
The minimum period of campaigning has been reduced from 21 days
to 14 days ever since the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections
in November 1995.
On his part, Gill refused to comment on
the possibility of a mid-term election. However, he said the
EC was prepared to hold elections
any time the President so desired.
But as an individual, Gill said he felt that a poor country like India
should use its limited resources for economic development and
raising the standard of living instead of wasting it on
elections time and again.
He said the EC would meet shortly to consider Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral's suggestion of
holding an all party conference to make an effective code of conduct
for elections.
The Commission would consider the suggestion seriously, Gill said.
UNI
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