Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday kickstarted the consultation process with recognised political parties vis-a-vis the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections due in the first half of 2021.
A delegation led by Umesh Sinha, Secretary-General of ECI, received leaders from major political parties in the state and listened to their views on the conduct of elections. The delegation will hold meetings with state government officials, and district collectors on election preparedness.
Ruling AIADMK demanded that the elections be held in the third or fourth week of April much before the onset of summer. Pollachi S Jayaraman, who represented the AIADMK before the ECI delegation, said the party suggested April-end as the possible period for the conduct of elections as the weather will be hot in May.
In 2016, the Assembly elections were held on May 16 and counting of votes took place on May 19.
Principal Opposition DMK and its ally the CPI(M) demanded that the polls be held in a single phase. In its representation, the DMK wanted monitoring of social media to prevent or check communal and hate campaigns, while demanding transfer of police officers in an effective manner.