Chennai, February 26 Ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar held consultations with political parties here on Thursday, and most of them requested that the elections be conducted in a single phase, EC officials said.
The parties sought stringent measures to curb the use of money power and the distribution of freebies during elections, they said.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Vivek Joshi, along with state Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik and senior officials of the Commission, held discussions with recognized national and state-level political parties here.
Most political parties appreciated the EC for the peaceful and smooth conduct of the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, the officials said.
"Most political parties requested the EC to conduct elections in a single phase," they added.
Representatives of Aam Aadmi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Congress, and National People's Party participated. As regards state parties, AIADMK, DMK, DMDK, Naam Tamizhar Katchi, and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi participated.
The assembly elections are due in Tamil Nadu in April this year. Political parties urged the commission to take stringent measures to curb the use of money power and the distribution of freebies during elections. Some political parties sought an increase in the number of flying squads to curb malpractices during elections.
Gyanesh Kumar assured all the political parties that elections are always held in a free, fair, and transparent manner, in accordance with the law. The CEC assured all the parties that the EC would firmly clamp down on all inducement-related activities.
The parties also urged the EC to keep in mind the festival dates while finalizing the dates for elections, and Kumar assured that this would be taken into account.
