CEO denies reports of receiving any letter for deferment of Ang bye polls

Srinagar/April,8: Hours after PDP appealed the Election Commission of India for postponement of by-polls to Anantnag parliament constituency and claimed that the state government had sent a formal letter for deferring the election; Chief Electoral Officer Jammu and Kashmir Shantmanu said that no political party had sent to him an formal letter about the matter.
“I have not received any written letter from any political party about postponing the by-polls for Anantnag parliamentary constituency. I heard it through press,” Shantmanu said as quoted by local news gathering agency KNS.
He said that he held a meeting with political parties-PDP, National Conference and Congress- this afternoon and heard their point of views about the elections.
“PDP appealed for postponement, while Congress and National Conference wanted the elections to be held as per schedule,” he said.
The CEO said that he has submitted the report of the meeting to the Election Commission of India which will take a final decision. By-polls on Anantnag parliamentary constituency, comprising 16 assembly segments in Pulwama, Kulgam, Anantnag and Shopian, are scheduled to be held on Wednesday. However, after the killing of eight civilians in Budgam and Ganderbal districts on polling day in Srinagar parliament constituency, the PDP candidate Tasaduq Mufti Monday appealed the ECI to postpone the by-polls. His demand was opposed by the Congress-NC joint candidate G A Mir who said that such appeal is meaningless.
Tasaduq in a press conference Monday morning had appealed the ECI to postpone the by-polls and had claimed that the state government had written to the ECI to postpone the elections.