The Election Commission (EC) will extend the polling time in the Madurai Lok Sabha constituency by two hours, till 8 p.m. on April 18, on account of the Chithirai festival, as lakhs of people are expected to visit the district to witness the grand entry of Lord Kallazhagar into the Vaigai.
In a related development, the Madras High Court will on Tuesday hear two PILs seeking the postponement of the polling date as it falls on Maundy Thursday, a holy day for Christians.
“As far as Madurai is concerned, polling will be (extended) as per the Election Commission’s direction. We have been given permission to hold the polls till 8 p.m. But the issue is before the court. We will be able to finalise it after the verdict [is delivered],” Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo told reporters on Monday, after a State-level meeting with District Electoral Officers, Superintendents and Commissioners of Police regarding the preparations for the polls.
In all other constituencies, voting will take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Voters in constituencies in and around Madurai, he contended, would be able to attend the Chithirai festival after casting their vote.
‘Date change unlikely’
“For example, if you take Sivaganga, it is two hours from Madurai. So they can do both – vote and take part in the festival,” he said.
The CEO said changing the polling date was unlikely since the EC had to consider the seven electoral phases across the country. “Observers are coming from other places, central forces are also coming. All these are tied up,” he said, adding that adequate preparations would be made for both the voting and the festival to take place in tandem.
“Religious activities can be pursued and election activities can be taken up without any hindrance to going to school and church. The DEOs will report to us on how to do that,” he said, referring to the concerns raised by the Tamil Nadu Bishops Council as the voting day coincides with Maundy Thursday.
Expenditure observers will arrive in the State on Tuesday, while general observers will arrive on the last day of the filing of nominations, March 26, Mr. Sahoo said.
He said there was no violation of the Model Code of Conduct in Rahul Gandhi’s event at Stella Maris College as prior permission had been obtained.
Meanwhile, a Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and Subramonium Prasad accepted a request made by senior counsel Fr. A. Xavier Arulraj for urgent hearing of a PIL petition filed by Most Rev. Antony Pappusamy, Archbishop and president of the Tamil Nadu Bishop’s Council, based in Madurai, since the EC was expected to notify the elections on Tuesday.
During the course of mentioning the matter, Justice Manikumar doubted if religious duties to be performed by a group of people could be cited as a reason to defer the constitutional duty expected to be performed by the people. Nevertheless, his Bench decided to examine the issue in detail when the case gets listed before it for admission.
The petitioner said around 50 lakh Christians in the State would be visiting churches and participating in official liturgy on polling day, and therefore, it would be convenient for them if the date of polling was rescheduled. A similar PIL petition was filed by the Christuva Nallena Iyakkam.