Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council writes to EC seeking change in poll dates

Tamil Nadu Bishops' Council wrote to State Election Commission seeking change in Lok Sabha poll date in the state and Puducherry which falls on April 18, citing the clash of dates with 'Maundy Thursday', a public ceremony on the Thursday before Easter.

In a letter written to Commission, Bishops' Council stated that polling date (April 18) coincides with Maundy Thursday and it would not be conducive for the people of the Christian community.

This comes after, an all-party delegation on Tuesday demanded date change of Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu, which is scheduled to take place on April 18, in view of Chithirai festival from April 8 to 22.

The Election Commission had announced the schedule for Lok Sabha elections. The dates for the seven phases are April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting of votes will be done on May 23.

Earlier, some leaders had also raised objections over the clash of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections with the holy month of Ramzan.

However, the Election Commission of India (EC) had said that it has excluded the date of the main festival and Fridays from the poll schedule but a full month cannot be excluded.