By IANS,
Chandigarh : Amid a strong possibility that the Haryana cabinet would seek dissolution of the state assembly to advance elections, central minister Prithviraj Chavan Tuesday said that state assembly polls could be held any time.
“The Congress party in Haryana is prepared for elections. These can be held any time and the date for the same would be announced by the Election Commission of India,” Chavan, who is the party’s in-charge for Haryana, told media here after meeting state Congress leadership.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was present at Tuesday’s meeting here, has already indicated that assembly polls in the state, scheduled for February-March next year, could be advanced to October.
Hooda’s cabinet was to meet here Tuesday but postponed the meeting owing to the death of cabinet minister Kartar Devi. It will now meet here Friday.
Congress leaders say there is a strong likelihood that the cabinet will recommend dissolution of the state assembly so that the elections can be held along with Maharashtra assembly polls in October.
The ruling Congress in Haryana is buoyant after it won nine out of 10 Lok Sabha seats in the April-May general elections.
The party is not worried about issues like the drought-like situation, price rise and spread of swine flu.
Opposition parties like the Indian National Lok Dal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Haryana Janhit Party (HJC) of former chief minister Bhajan Lal could not do much in the Lok Sabha polls.
“In a democratic setup, it is the basic and major right of the citizens to elect their representatives. The Maharashtra assembly has to be constituted before Nov 2. Therefore, elections there would be held between Dushera and Diwali. The Congress in Haryana is fully prepared for elections,” said Chavan, minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
Chavan cautioned party workers not to be over-confident and asked them to work hard to win the elections.