 "Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora flanked by Election Commissioners Ashok Lavasa (L) and Sunil Chandra during a press conference regarding Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly Elections, at Election Commission in New Delhi. Photo: PTI")
Soon after the ongoing Jharkhand Assembly election ends with the counting of votes on December 23, the Election Commission plans to set in motion the process for the Delhi Assembly elections, slated for early next year.
According to sources in the polls, the election schedule for the Delhi polls could be announced by January 10. The Model Code of Conduct would come in place simultaneously with the announcement.
Sensing the poll announcement could come by early next month, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party government in the city is seeking to announce the start of pending projects before the code of conduct is in place. The announcement of 11,000 wifi hotspots by December 16 is being seen as an example.
The Kejriwal government will complete five years by February 14 and the elections are slated to be held before this date. The Election Commission will have to allot a month for the entire election process, which will include sufficient time for parties to campaign as well as the polling and counting process.
According to the sources, the EC, this time, wants to complete the entire process well before the deadline. For the 2015 elections, the elections were announced on January 12 and the voting held on February 7.
The sources stressed that this time, the poll panel is likely to announce the poll schedule much before January 10. In view of the impending announcement, the ruling AAP as well as the opposition BJP and Congress have started their electoral preparations.
