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Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday said the party is fully prepared for the upcoming elections in four states and one Union Territory, while stressing the need for the Election Commission to consult local stakeholders before announcing poll dates.
He highlighted public dissatisfaction with the current government in Assam and urged for fair elections and results. Speaking to ANI, Khera said, "Congress party is absolutely ready, and we are prepared. Though we have a lot of questions to ask the CEC, the CEC does not respond to our questions. The Congress party knows that people of Assam, in particular, are absolutely fed up with this government, and they are ready for a change. We will ensure that the elections are fair, and the results will also be fair." "Such decisions should be taken with sensitivity. In Kerala, there is an issue. Easter is coming in just 23 days. So the election commission should do widespread consultations with all the stakeholders before announcing these dates, because the local sensibilities have to be respected," he said. "No sensible party in Tamil Nadu will join hands with the BJP that we are very confident about," Khera said. The Election Commission of India has announced the schedule for Assembly polls for Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. As per the announcement, the assembly elections will commence from April 9. Polling in Assam, Kerala and Puducherry will be held on April 9 in a single phase. While in West Bengal, the first phase of voting is scheduled for April 23, followed by the second phase on April 29. Tamil Nadu will hold its elections on April 23 in a single phase. Counting of votes for all five states and UTs is scheduled for May 4. Khera also raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, alleging that it is being used to deliberately delete voters' names rather than add them, and stressed that the party has been questioning the process to ensure fair elections. "We are questioning this exercise (SIR) because in the last six months, our experience has been that this exercise is targeted to delete votes, not to add votes, and the deletion is also very deliberate, very targeted. Therefore, we have been raising questions about this exercise," he said. (ANI)
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