NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora on Monday voiced hope that the law and order situation will remain in control during polling for the Delhi Assembly on February 8. He said in the event of ‘extraordinary circumstances’, the Election Commission (EC) will defer the polls as it is authorised to by the Constitution.
While the city has been in the throes of violent protests over the amended citizenship and Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), the masked mob attack on students and vandalism on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Sunday evening has touched off a fresh wave of protests across the city.
“We are hopeful that the law and order situation will be conducive for polling. If there’s an extraordinary situation, there’s always an option to postpone the elections. The Constitution empowers us to take such a call,” Arora said when asked specifically on whether the prevailing disquiet around the JNU incident will impact polling in Delhi.
The CEC said the poll panel has already held several rounds of meetings with the Delhi Police top brass, chief secretary and authorities concerned to assess the prevailing law and order situation in the national capital.
Polling for the 70 Assembly seats will be held on February 8 and the counting of votes has been scheduled on February 11.
Announcing the poll schedule for the city, the CEC said the Model Code of Conduct is already in force. The model code is a set of guidelines laid down by the panel with respect to public speeches and conduct of leaders and parties in the fray. It also sets rules for the management of poll booths and those pertaining to portfolios, manifestoes and campaign-related events.
He said that the poll panel will put together a media monitoring cell for the elections and all arrangements will be in place to enforce the model code.
Quizzed on the low voter turnout in some parts of Delhi in the previous polls, Arora said some constituencies had reported even poorer voter footfall than regions hit by Maoist terror.