State Assembly Poll dates out, Opposition wants Budget later

BJP confident of winning in 5 states, Cong calls elections to Assemblies a 'yagna' for democracy

Various political parties on Wednesday welcomed the announcement of Assembly elections in five states, with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) exuding confidence of victory due to the “positive undercurrent” after demonetisation and Congress urging Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair polls.

Others such as the Samajwadi Party, in power in Uttar Pradesh, has, however, said they would ask the EC to get the Budget — brought forward by almost a month to 1 February — postponed.

“State elections are fought largely on the state-level issues...(but) there is a positive undercurrent for BJP across the country which is what we have seen post-demonetisation,” BJP national spokesperson G V L Narsimha Rao said. To drive his point, Rao cited the examples of the party's impressive show in the recently held by-elections and civic polls, particularly in Gujarat and Maharashtra. 

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala described the polls to the five states, where his party will seek another term in row, as a “yagna” of democracy and urged the EC to ensure "free, fair and independent polls”. “We also hope that the use of muscle power, abuse of government power and misuse of money power will be checked once and for all and it will be good for democracy,” he said, while welcoming the poll schedule.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party is fancying chances of clinching power in Punjab and Goa, claimed the situation in the two states, where the BJP was in power or sharing it, was “bad”. “Both in Punjab and Goa, the situation is bad. In Punjab, people want to throw the BJP coalition government and bring in an honest AAP government so that they get freed from drugs and corruption,” he said.

Naresh Agrawal, who was recently expelled by Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh, insisted the EC to see the Budget session announced by the central government be postponed to ensure that the voters do not get influenced.

“The manner in which the Budget session has been convened in between the polls, we will urge the Election Commission to get it postponed, the way 2012 Budget session was postponed, to ensure free and fair poll," Agarwal said.