Karunanidhi slams EC over Tamil Nadu poll dates

Slamming the Election Commission for its 'hasty' announcement of schedule for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Thursday said the state had not been consulted about the dates and sought to know the rationale behind the poll panel's action.

A day after the EC announced the schedule, the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam chief said everybody expected the polls to be held either in the last week of April or in the first week of May. The EC could have given some more time to candidates and political parties, he wrote in the party magazine Murasoli.

He said though polling would be held on April 13, counting would be taken up only on May 13 after a month-long gap, adding the new assembly had to be constituted on May 17 and time was too short for the completion of the process.

Karunanidhi said the complete results of the poll would be out only on May 14 and political parties would have just two days time for ministry formation as the assembly had to be summoned by May 17 with the term of the present assembly ending on May 16

Besides, political parties would have just 17 days for campaigning as per the present schedule, he said, adding that the EC had not consulted the state about the dates. Quoting the saying that Caesar's wife should be above suspicion, he questioned the 'haste' with which the EC had announced the schedule.

"The EC is an independent body and there is no need for it to consult anybody," he said sarcastically.

"If the new assembly has to meet on May 17, where is the need for the hurry to conduct the polls on April 13 itself," said Karunanidhi, whose party is yet to cement seat-sharing deal with the Congress.