An all-party meeting was held today at the office of the Darjeeling district magistrate (DM) regarding civic elections in the four municipalities, namely, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseong and Mirik, slated on 11 December. All the important political parties like CPI-M, CPRM, BJP, Congress and GJMM participated in the meeting. But the GNLF was conspicuous by its absence.
It was learnt from administrative officials that the DM, Mr Soumitra Mohan, had enlightened all the political parties about the rules and regulations to be followed by the parties. After the meting was over the CPRM leader, Mr Shekher Chettri, said the DM had assured them of free and fair elections. “We hope the electorate would have the freedom to choose candidates freely,” he said.
The process of filing nomination for the 11 December civic body elections is set to commence on 8 November. The process is expected to be completed by 16 November. But these dates are tentative, as the final decision would be taken soon by the state election commission, a senior district official said.
However, uncertainty prevails over whether the major non-GJMM parties like AIGL, GNLF and CPI-M would take part in the elections or not. A senior Marxist leader and the Rajya Sabha MP from the Darjeeling Hills, Mr Saman Pathak, said the atmosphere in the Hills was not conducive for free and fair elections. “We would decide whether we would contest or not later,” he added. sns
It was learnt from administrative officials that the DM, Mr Soumitra Mohan, had enlightened all the political parties about the rules and regulations to be followed by the parties. After the meting was over the CPRM leader, Mr Shekher Chettri, said the DM had assured them of free and fair elections. “We hope the electorate would have the freedom to choose candidates freely,” he said.
The process of filing nomination for the 11 December civic body elections is set to commence on 8 November. The process is expected to be completed by 16 November. But these dates are tentative, as the final decision would be taken soon by the state election commission, a senior district official said.
However, uncertainty prevails over whether the major non-GJMM parties like AIGL, GNLF and CPI-M would take part in the elections or not. A senior Marxist leader and the Rajya Sabha MP from the Darjeeling Hills, Mr Saman Pathak, said the atmosphere in the Hills was not conducive for free and fair elections. “We would decide whether we would contest or not later,” he added. sns
0 comments:
Post a Comment