Uttarakhand EC urges EC to postpone poll date

Dehradun. Citing extreme cold conditions in the month of January, Uttarakhand State Election Commission today urged the Central Election Commission to postpone the date for Assembly polls till the last week of February next year. Chief Election Officer, Uttarakhand, Radha Raturi said that she has sent a fax to the EC requesting it to postpone the poll date from January 30 to the last week of February. "Cold conditions are very severe in the last week of January, and snowfall also takes place in some parts during the period. So, it is very difficult to conduct polls in such conditions," she told PTI. Out of 9,744 polling centres, 35 per cent stations lie in snow prone areas, Raturi said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister B C Khanduri has also requested the EC to delay the polling date. The Election Commission yesterday announced a seven-phased poll in Uttar Pradesh between February 4 and 28, while assembly elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa would be held in a single-phase. Punjab and Uttarakhand will go to polls on January 30, while it will be held on January 28 in Manipur and on March 3 in Goa.

(PTI)