The Haryana BJP has written to the Election Commission, seeking a postponement of the Assembly polls on October 1 to another date, citing holidays before and after October 1. The BJP's request drew a dig from the Congress, with former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda asserting that the saffron party accepted defeat.
Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli, in his letter to the Election Commission, said people tend to go on vacation in the week before and after October 1 and could impact the voter percentage. He asked the poll body to fix a new date.
Varinder Garg, a member of the BJP's state election management committee, said, "We have reasoned that the 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."
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.
State Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal confirmed that the Election Commission received a copy of Badoli's letter on Friday over email. "We have received the communication from state BJP and forwarded it to the Election Commission," he told PTI.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini confirmed that Badoli wrote to the Election Commission, seeking a change in polling date due to extended holidays in Haryana.
"Our BJP state president Mohan Badoli has written to the Election Commission to shift the (election) date in consultation with other political parties so that vote percentage can be increased. There are holidays continuously and therefore this letter has been written so that vote percentage does not go down," Saini said.
Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the BJP had "accepted defeat" by requesting to postpone the Assembly election date, asserting that the people were ready to throw out the incumbent government.
"Elections have been declared and it has been more than a week since it was declared. This means that they want to postpone the election. They are accepting defeat and we want the Election Commission to hold the election on time because people do not want the government to remain in power for even a day," Hooda said.
ABOUT HARYANA ELECTIONS
The Election Commission 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 party.
The tenure of the current Haryana Assembly, which has 90 seats, ends on November 3.
