Source: The Sangai Express / Manipur Info Centre
New Delhi, January 29 2009:
The process to decide on the dates of the general elections will begin next week with the Election Commission convening a meeting of political parties on 3rd Feb, the DD News reports.
In the wake of Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi's remarks that the Lok Sabha polls would be held between 8th April and 15th May, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said "the Commission has not met on
the dates".
"The Commission is first meeting the political parties on February third, Chief Electoral Officers on the fourth, the DGPs and Chief Secretaries on the 5th," he told reporters at the Institute of Social Sciences at New Delhi on Wednesday.
Gopalaswami said some more meetings are scheduled for 6th February after which the Commission will discuss the possible dates.
"Then on sixth some more meetings are there.
After that we will sit down and take note of what is available � the forces and what are the phasings possible.
Then we will come out with the dates," he said.
At the India House in London on Tuesday evening, Quraishi had said that the Lok Sabha elections will be held between 8th April and 15th May.
"We, in the Election Commission, have not yet discussed the final dates, but it will be held between April 8 and May 15," he said after delivering a lecture on 'J and K Elections 2008' .