Shock for Sena, EC summons Thackeray

In a letter the Commission said, "If you fail to appear on that date it will be presumed that you have nothing to state and action will be taken without any further reference to you."

Election Commissioner GVG Krishnamurty however refused comment when asked by media persons if the EC would consider derecognition of the party if it did not comply with its directive on organisational polls.

Shiv Sena has maintained that its constitution did not have any provision for holding organisational polls and the life-time party chief had the right to appoint all office-bearers. The Commission insists the party will have to amend its constitution to comply with the Representation of People Act (RPA).

A Shiv Sena delegation was formally conveyed this on December 1. The EC asked the Sena to give its reply by December 8, but there has been no response.

Krishnamurty indicated that the EC will take a final decision on the issue of amendment of the Sena constitution before the schedule for the General Election is announced.

The original EC directive had said that all recognised parties should hold organisational polls by December 1996. The deadline was later extended to March 1997.

Another party defying the directive is the All Party Hill Leaders Conference (Armison Marak) of Meghalaya. Acting tough, the EC has given notice saying it will no longer deal with the party as it had failed to hold organisational elections. The Shiv Sena has argued that it was registered before Section 29-A, insisting on organisational polls, was included in the RPA. The provision came into effect in 1989.

At its meeting today, the Commission also decided not to register any new political parties while the election process was on; meaning between the announcement of poll dates and the declaration of results. Krishnamurty said the EC had streamlined the process of granting registration to new parties, so that their numbers were kept in check.Any political party seeking registration should have at least 100 eligible voters as members. The office-bearers should file affidavits swearing that they were not members of any other party.

A party will have to bag six per cent – up from four per cent earlier – of the votes polled to be recognised as a national party. No party bearing the name of a living person will be registered. No new symbols of birds or animals will be allotted. And parties which already have such symbols have been asked not to display living or dead animals during the campaign.

Joshi toes EC line

Pulled up by the Commission over offering sops to electorates, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi today did away with his usual bonanza chasm at the Dalit Panther’s silver jubilee rally, despite it being seen as an opportunity to hammer the traditional Congress voters.

"Let the (Lok Sabha) polls get over," Joshi told the rally in an oblique reference to the EC directives.