The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday postponed polling for the Punjab Assembly elections from February 14 to 20, after the State government and political parties raised concerns that many devotees would make their way to Varanasi to celebrate Guru Ravidas’s birth anniversary on February 16.
The representations to the ECI said many devotees started going to Varanasi a week before the celebrations and holding polling on February 14 would deprive them of the chance to vote. In a press statement, the ECI said it had decided to reschedule the poll.
The date of notification will be on January 25, while the last date of nomination will be February 2. The applications will be scrutinised on February 2, while the last date of withdrawal of application is February 4.
Counting would be held on the same day as before - March 10.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had written to the ECI asking for the poll date to be moved, as a large number of the Scheduled Caste community would go to Varanasi to observe Guru Ravidas jayanti. The Punjab unit of the BJP too had raised the issue.
Several political parties including Congress, BJP, and Capt. Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress sought changes in the election schedule as Guru Ravidas Jayanti falls on February 16. Several devotees, especially from Scheduled Castes, undergo pilgrimage to Varanasi from February 10 to 16 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas.