Haryana poll deferred by 4 days to Oct 5

Animesh Singh

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Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 31

The Election Commission on Saturday deferred the Haryana Assembly poll date from October 1 to October 5. It said the decision was taken following representations by political parties seeking deferment in view of a centuries-old festival of the Bishnoi community.

The counting of votes for both Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Assembly elections will now take place on October 8 instead of October 4, it said. The schedule for the J&K elections remains the same as per which polling will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1.

In a statement, the EC said the BJP had last week written to it to revise the polling date in Haryana keeping in mind the long weekend which might result in poor voter turnout. Besides, the All India Bishnoi Mahasabha cited mass movement of people of the Bishnoi community of Haryana to Rajasthan to participate in the centuries-old Asoj Amavasya festival.

The EC was told that this year, the festival falls on October 2 and thousands of Bishnoi families residing in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar would be travelling to Rajasthan on October 1 due to which they would not be able to cast their vote.

Taking note of these representations, the EC decided to change the date of polling in Haryana. In the past too, the EC had adjusted election dates keeping in mind the sentiments of various communities.

It had postponed the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections by a week to accommodate devotees travelling to Varanasi for Guru Ravidas Jayanti. Similarly, the commission changed the dates for the 2022 Manipur polls to respect the Christian community’s Sunday prayers. In the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections, it rescheduled polling as it was originally scheduled to be held on Devuthani Ekadashi, a day significant for mass weddings in the state. In the 2012 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the poll date was changed due to Barawafat.

Meanwhile, the BJP thanked the poll panel for considering its request for revising the Haryana polling date. Party leader and former state minister Anil Vij said, “We are thankful to the Election Commission. There would have been five holidays in the state as per earlier schedule. In such a scenario, people tend to go out… it could have taken a toll on the voter turnout.”

Senior Congress leader and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, “It is the Election Commission’s right to extend the date. But the BJP has already accepted its defeat by writing a letter to the EC for poll deferment.”

AAP leader Manish Sisodia said, “They (BJP) can change the polling dates using the EC, but they will surely lose the elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi.”