BJP urges EC to change Haryana assembly poll date

The Haryana unit of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has written to the Election Commission requesting a brief postponement of the Assembly polls slated for October 1, citing holidays before and after the election date that could lead to lower voter turnout.

A state BJP leader on Saturday said the letter has been sent by party's state unit chief to the Election Commission.

Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal confirmed that the commission has received a copy of the communication on Friday over e-mail.

"We have received the communication from state BJP and forwarded it to the Election Commission..," Agarwal told PTI.

Varinder Garg, a member of the BJP's state election management committee, said, "We have reasoned that Assembly election date of October 1 is preceded by holiday on weekend and followed by some holidays which may hit the voting percentage as people tend to go on vacation on long weekends which are followed by holidays."

"We have written to the Election Commission in this regard. For a better turnout, any new date once the string of holidays is over should be fine," Garg told PTI over phone on Saturday.

"Saturday (September 28) is a holiday for many, while Sunday is a holiday. October 1 is a poll holiday in the state which is followed by Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, which is a holiday and October 3 is also a holiday on account of Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti," he said.

The Election Commission had on August 16 announced that assembly polls in Haryana would be held in a single phase on October 1 and the results would be declared on October 4.

The BJP is eyeing a third consecutive term while the Congress is looking to wrest power from the ruling outfit.

The tenure of the current Haryana Vidhan Sabha ends on November 3.