The Hindu : BJP, Cong. welcome election schedule

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 29, 2002

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Other States - Gujarat

BJP, Cong. welcome election schedule

By Our Special Correspondent

GANDHINAGAR Oct. 28. Both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress and the people in Gujarat have welcomed the Election Commission's decision to hold the Assembly elections here on December 12.

While the State BJP spokesman, Nalin Bhatt, said the single phase poll programme vindicated the State Government's claim that the situation was normal and there was no threat to law and order during the elections, his Congress counterpart, Hasmukh Patel, said the EC had upheld his party's stand that the situation was not conducive for early elections, being demanded by the BJP, after communal riots.

Both Mr. Bhatt and Mr. Patel expressed the confidence that their parties would win comfortably. Mr. Bhatt said the BJP was waiting for the election dates and was ready to face any challenge. Mr. Patel said the Congress' preparations for the elections had started more than three months ago and was in the final stages. Though the last date for filing nominations was November 25, Mr. Patel said the Congress' list of candidates was likely to be finalised in the next 10 days.

The State BJP treasurer, Surendra Patel, however, expressed reservations over the EC decision to allow "international observers" for watching the elections. "Gujarat is no Jammu and Kashmir and there is no threat to the law and order situation that the international observers should be allowed on the soil of the State during the elections."

The Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and the BJP State unit president, Rajendrasinh Rana, who were in the Saurashtra region leading the `Gaurav rath yatra', also welcomed the election schedule. During the `rath yatra', Mr. Modi said the elections would provide an opportunity to the people to give a "fitting reply" to those who had "defamed" Gujarat nationally and internationally, projecting the State's five crore peace-loving people as "rapists, murderers and arsonists". The announcement of the poll schedule left no more "escape routes" for the Congress.

The State Congress president, Shankarsinh Waghela, who was attending a youth rally in Porbandar, countered Mr. Modi's stand. He said the elections would give the opportunity to the people to reject those who were responsible for "harming Gujarat's pride". He expressed the confidence that the Congress would emerge a clear winner in the elections.

The State Chief Electoral Officer, Gurcharan Singh, said the expenses being made in the `Gaurav rath yatra' would be counted as part of the BJP's "election expenses". Expressing the confidence that the EC would conduct the elections in a peaceful and free and fair atmosphere, he said about 45,000 additional police and para-military forces would be deployed on polling day as also over 1.80 lakh polling staff.

The Muslim community, which was the target of the communal riots and was instrumental in influencing the EC to reject the BJP's demand for early elections, expressed happiness over the polling being held after the end of Ramzan. Its leaders, allaying apprehension that the minorities would boycott the elections, said Muslims would turn out in large numbers to cast their votes.

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