Four States, Pondy go to polls on May 10

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 31. The Election Commission today announced that elections to the Assemblies of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Assam would be held on May 10.

The notification for the polls will be issued on April 16, and the last date for filing nominations will be April 23. Scrutiny will take place on April 24 and withdrawal of candidatures will be allowed on April 26. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 13 and the entire process completed before May 18.

Announcing the poll schedule at a press conference here, the Chief Election Commissioner, Dr. M.S. Gill, said the extensive use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and compulsory identification of voters would be the main features of the polls. While the term of the Tamil Nadu Assembly expires on May 21, that of the Kerala Assembly ends on May 28 and the Assam Assembly's term expires on June 11. The terms of the West Bengal and Pondicherry Assemblies come to an end on June 9.

The CEC said the Model Code of Conduct would come into effect from tomorrow in the five States. The policy on the Model Code of Conduct was consistent with the text of the document agreed to by the political parties and reaffirmed by them during discussions with the Commission. As many as 239 million electors will exercise their franchise in 148,815 polling stations to be set up by the Commission. A total of 824 seats are at stake.

While finalising the poll schedule, the Commission took into consideration the security scenario, law and order situation, examinations and festivals in the States during the run up to the polls and the period covered by the electoral process. Dr. Gill said that barring Assam the other States favoured a one-day poll. The CEC, who visited Tamil Nadu and Assam recently and held discussions on the poll preparedness, expressed confidence that the Assam poll would be successful.

On the use of voter identity cards, Dr. Gill said Tamil Nadu had issued cards to nearly 70 per cent of the electorate. Admitting to a ``gap'' in Tamil Nadu, the CEC said alternative documents to establish the identity of the voter would be allowed. ``We will insist on compulsory identification of voters in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Pondicherry and West Bengal. In Assam, we intend to take it up seriously later.''

The CEC and the two Election Commissioners had visited the States going to the polls and held discussions with political parties to get a firsthand knowledge on the identification of voters.

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