NEW DELHI: The election commission will finalize a fresh poll program for byelection to the Meham assembly seat in the northern state of Haryana only by end of the week, commission sources said here Thursday.
The sources said the commission was awaiting a reply from Haryana chief secretary on a new poll program following the countermanding of the February 27 election in view of large scale booth capturing and rigging.
They said even after receipt of the program from the state government, the commission would take some time to finalize it as it has to consider several factors.
The commission will have to consider the request by contesting candidates for drafting only central government officials for poll duty, they added.
The commission has already decided to hold fresh poll under the sole supervision of central Para-military forces in view of allegations of dereliction of duty by the state police. The deployment of central forces would take some time, they pointed out.
The commission had last week directed the state government to hold an inquiry into charges of failure of the state machinery during the February 27 poll. The government had also been asked to submit the name of the inquiry officer and discuss his suitability for the job with the commission.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 23, 1990
