Polls won’t affect split process: CEC

Hyderabad: Announcing the schedule at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, chief election commissioner V.S. Sampath, flanked by his two colleagues, election commissioners H.S. Brahma and S.N.A. Zaidi, stressed that though the voting would be held across nine days, the entire process would be completed in 72 days, three days less than the previous 2009 election.

However, political parties in Telangana and Seemandhra will have to wait for two weeks to form the government in the respective states after the people have given their verdict as the counting of votes will take place on May 16. The Appointed Day for both the states is June 2.

It will be a strange political scenario because the government will be in place at the Centre by the time the two governments are formed here. Announcing the schedule, Mr Sampath said the polls would not affect the division process and the elected representatives will belong to the respective states after the Appointed Day. The state government, however, might face difficulties because several All India Services officers will be sent as election observers to other states.

Chief Secretary P.K. Mohanty will write to the EC to spare the bureaucrats from the state from poll duties in other states as they are busy with the division process. As many as 6.24 crore voters will exercise their franchise in the state. The EC will organise a massive drive on March 9 to register fresh voters in all the designated polling booths.

“Though we accept applications till a day before filing of nominations, we appeal to people to make use of the special drive to ensure that they become voters,” Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal told media persons here. For the first time in the state, voters will have an opportunity to reject all the contesting candidates making use of the None Of The Above facility in the electronic voting machines.