Opposition unhappy with stretched-out poll schedule

RANCHI: Opposition parties in the state have questioned the prolonged schedule for

Lok Sabha polls

in Jharkhand while the ruling BJP has said the Election Commission has taken the with a rationalistic approach. In 2014, Jharkhand had three-phase LS polls, but this year the elections will be in four phases.


As per the announcement made by Election Commission of India for 2019 general elections on Sunday, as many as 22 states will have single-phase polls. Some of the states are Gujarat (26 seats), Andhra Pradesh (42) and Kerala (20). Jharkhand has 14 parliamentary seats.

JMM working president Hemant Soren questioned the decision. “Two-phase polls would have been more than enough. Four phases is beyond logic,” he said, adding that BJP wants to buy as much time as possible between the polls to resort to unlawful activities. Without mentioning the EC, Soren accused the saffron party BJP of degrading all the constitutional bodies in the country.

Congress’s spokesperson Alok Dubey reiterated their party’s views that prolonged polls indicate that the EC is unsure about the law and order situation in the state. “Most importantly, going by the way polls were announced immediately after PM Narendra Modi’s official programmes of launching schemes ended on March 9, one is certainly bound to ask EC to explain? Last year, polls were announced on March 5, but this year it was delayed by five days only because of the pressure from the ruling party,” he said, adding that prolonged polling dates is always beneficial for the ruling party as it will resort to illegal means to corner opponents.

JVM-P’s spokesperson Yogendra Pratap Singh echoed the views.

BJP snubbed the opposition parties’ allegations. “The poll dates are decided by the EC taking all aspects into consideration to ensure free and fair polls. We respect it,” said BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdeo, adding that their government has done a good job. “Our agenda of development will make people bring PM Narendra Modi back to power,” he said.