Chandigarh: Amid requests from SAD, BJP, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the ruling AAP in Punjab to not hold civic polls during the remembrance days to commemorate sacrifices made by Guru Gobind Singh and his family members, the state Election Commission Tuesday said it “has been considering all the representations” and “has sufficient time” to complete the poll process within the time-frame stipulated by the Supreme Court. Punjab State Election Commissioner Raj Kamal Chaudhary on Tuesday said the commission would announce the poll schedule in coming days keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people.
“The commission has been and is considering all the representations. The Supreme Court had given two weeks to notify the elections and eight weeks after the notification to complete the process. The govt has already issued notification and the timeline (to complete the poll process) extends till Jan. There is sufficient time, but since the govt has directed to hold polls by Dec-end, we are examining all the possibilities,” Chaudhary said, when contacted.The requests focus on the period from Dec 12 to 31, which includes the martyrdom days of Guru Gobind Singh’s four sons and Mata Gujri, as well as the “Shaheedi Pakhwara” and other major observances. These commemorations culminate in the Shaheedi Jor Mela from Dec 26 to 28, a major religious gathering at Fatehgarh Sahib.
Hearing a petition where Punjab govt had challenged an order of Punjab and Haryana high court in Oct directing the state to announce poll schedule in 15 days without carrying out fresh delimitation exercise, the Supreme Court last month had issued directions to Punjab govt to notify the civic polls within two weeks and complete the election process within eight weeks after the notification. Following the SC directions, Punjab govt issued a notification on Nov 21 to hold the polls in five municipal corporations of Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Phagwara; 42 municipal councils and nagar panchayats; and byelections for seven wards in four other civic bodies.