Navin Chawla is set to preside over the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with President Pratibha Patil on March 1, 2009 rejecting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswami`s recommendation to remove him. The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called the President`s decision `unfortunate` while the Congress said it was `natural` and that the CEC`s suggestion was `whimsical`. Rashtriya Lok Dal joins National Democratic Alliance
Gopalaswami retires on April 20 and Chawla, being the next senior most election commissioner, will preside over the parliamentary polls expected to be held in April-May. The timeline for the polls is likely to be announced shortly. The CEC had written to the President in January to remove Chawla, triggering an unseemly fracas in the constitutional panel and a bitter war of words between the Congress-led government and the BJP.
Text: IANS
Images: (Copyright AFP/Getty Images. Unauthorised reproduction prohibited.)
Image: Indian CEC N Gopalaswami arrives for a meeting with representatives of political parties to discuss issues relating to the upcoming General Elections, in New Delhi on February 3, 2009. Gopalaswami came face to face with EC Navin Chawla for the first time since differences emerged between the two commissioners in the last two days.
