Chandigarh: The Election Commission has announced that assembly elections in Punjab will be held on February 20, instead of February14 as earlier scheduled. The date has been changed after political parties requested the Election Commission to factor in Guru Ravidas Jayanti celebrations.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in a letter to the Election Commission had suggested the assembly polls should be deferred by at least six days after representatives of the Scheduled Castes community, which comprises 32 per cent of Punjab's population, told him that a large number of people from the community would visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh from February 10 to 16 and so may not be able to vote.
In a statement, the Election Commission said several political parties, the Punjab government and other organisations have sought the polls to be deferred. After considering these new facts and inputs from the state government and Chief Electoral Officer and past precedence, now the commission has decided to reschedule the elections," it said.
