Bjp Elated By Ec Decision On Congress

The BJP yesterday appeared elated at the Election Commissions decision to stick to the May 31 deadline for all political parties to complete their organisational elections. It said that the EC should take action against the erring parties, although it failed to specify the nature of the ECs action.

Party vice-president KL Sharma said the EC had to decide the course of action if political parties fail to comply with its directives by May 31. If the EC has kept something, it should also implement it, he said, adding that the EC has the right to take a decision on the issue.

However, Sharma was not sure whether the EC was competent to take steps such as deregistration of political parties in case of their failure to meet the deadline. It is the EC who should decide what to do though there is no legal or constitutional point, he said. Sharma said that the ECs direction does not apply to the BJP as it held regular organisational as per the party constitution. Under the party constitution, the BJPs organisational elections would be considered complete if regular elections were held in more than 50 per cent of the partys state units, he pointed out.

Last time, the party could not hold organisational elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and had to appoint ad hoc committees. The Left parties also have regular elections but the national parties like the Congress and the Janata Dal would have to complete organisational elections by the stipulated date.