Hyderabad, July 19: The Election Commission today said it had "no indication, either direct or indirect" from the Centre on early elections to Lok Sabha. "Whenever elections are held, the Election Commission has to get enough time to ensure free and fair polls," election commissioner B B Tandon told reporters here. As the term of the present Lok Sabha expires in October next year, elections have to be held before that, he said.
Tandon, who is also a member of the delimitation commission, is here as part of an exercise to elicit views of various political parties on re-drawing the boundaries of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies. Stating that the EC would use electronic voting machines (EVMs) across the country during the next parliamentary elections, he said, "We are also trying to ensure 100 per cent coverage of voters with photo-identity cards before the next polls." Bureau Report