There is a demand for change in the date of assembly elections in Haryana. BJP and Indian National Lok Dal have appealed to the Election Commission to postpone the assembly elections to be held on October 1, citing weekends, public holidays and festivals. BJP and INLD have demanded to postpone the elections for a week.
Leaders of both parties have written separate letters to the Election Commission, citing religious events and holidays of the Bishnoi community, saying that voters may go on holidays, which may affect voting.
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What is said in the letter sent to EC?
It is said in the letter that the date of voting has been kept on government holidays. For example, 28 September is Saturday and 29 September is Sunday. After this, there are two government holidays, Gandhi Jayanti on 2 October and Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti on 3 October. Accordingly, voters can plan their long holidays, due to which there is a possibility of low voting.
Abhay Chautala’s party INLD argues that due to this, the voting percentage is likely to decrease by 15% to 20%. Apart from this, the training of workers and election preparations may be affected. BJP, INLD and All India Bishnoi Mahasabha wrote a letter to the Election Commission and appealed for a change in the date of voting.
In his letter to the Election Commission, National President of All India Bishnoi Mahasabha Devendra Budia said, “A big celebration will be held at Mukam Dham in Bikaner, Rajasthan, in which a large number of people from Bishnoi community from different parts of the country will participate.
Bishnoi voters in 20 assembly constituencies
The Bishnoi community is present in about 20 assembly constituencies of Haryana including Fatehabad, Sirsa, Hisar and Bhiwani. There are about 1.5 lakh Bishnoi voters in Loharu, Ellenabad, Dabwali, Sirsa, Tohana, Fatehabad, Barwala, Hisar, Nalwa, Uklana and Adampur.
Sources say that the Election Commission examined the appeals made by political parties and members of the Bishnoi community. If the demands of the leaders of political parties are accepted, then the date of Haryana assembly elections can be changed to 7 or 8 October. The change in the date of elections in Haryana may also postpone the counting of votes in Jammu and Kashmir.
Congress-JJP angry over demand to change the date
Opposition Congress, JJP and AAP have reacted sharply to the demand to postpone the election date. Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta said that BJP is afraid of losing the election, so it wants to postpone the election date. Haryana Congress chief Uday Bhan Chaudhary said that the real motive behind the unreasonable demand to postpone the election date is the fear of losing power.
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AAP leader Sushil Gupta said that be it the Chief Minister or the former party chief, everyone has tasted defeat. The Chief Minister had to face defeat in his booth and assembly constituency. Former party chief OP Dhankar and Subhash Barala have also lost elections earlier. This is the reason why BJP has demanded to postpone the elections in the name of government holiday. He said that the truth is that the people of Haryana have already decided to send BJP on leave.
BJP can win only 20 seats- Dushyant
JJP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala has also criticized the BJP for demanding a change in the election date. Chautala said, “The announcement of the election dates has come as a shock to the BJP. The saffron party has lost its vote bank and can win only 20 seats.”
Dushyant, a former BJP ally, said, “I don’t think the Election Commission will postpone the elections. There has been a proposal to postpone the election date earlier as well. Earlier, the Rajasthan assembly elections were announced for November 23, but the date was postponed to November 25 due to the wedding season.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)