The Election Commission rescheduled elections in certain constituencies from November 13 to November 20 to accommodate local festivities and ensure broader voter participation. This change affects elections in Palakkad, Kerala, as well as by-elections in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Palakkad: The Election Commission on Monday (Nov 04) rescheduled the Palakkad byelection to the Legislative Assembly. Originally set for November 13, the vote has now been postponed to November 20. Several political parties had requested the change due to the Kalpathi Ratholsavam festival falling on the same day. However, there is no change in the vote counting date.
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BJP, Congress, and CPM had expressed objections to holding the election on the same day as the Kalpathi Ratholsavam festival. Both BJP and Congress had also sent letters to the Election Commission requesting the postponement of the November 13 election. However, the order mentioning the date change specifically refers to requests from the BJP, Congress, BSP, and RLD only.
Although the CPI(M) had publicly requested a change in the election date, the party’s name was not mentioned in the Election Commission's order. Minister M.B. Rajesh remarked that the decision to postpone the election should have been made earlier and noted that the CPI(M) had also raised this demand. He added that only a few parties' names were referenced in the order and suggested that this should be reviewed.
The by-elections in Assembly constituencies in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have also been postponed from November 13 to November 20 to accommodate various festive events. The adjusted timeline is designed to encourage broader voter participation across the three states.