Possibility of deferment of polls of PCC presidents and AICC delegates arose on Monday with the central election authority remaining non-committal on such a move even as dissident leader Jitendra Prasada's camp protested saying that such an action would be an attempt to ''throttle'' democratic process. ''I cannot say anything at this stage'', CEA chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha informed the reporters when asked about any possibility that the two elections, which are scheduled along with that of the congress president on Nov 12, might be postponed.

Mirdha said that he has convened a meeting of the CEA as also a meeting of the pradesh returning officers of various states on Tuesday to take stock of the situation as regards the organisational elections held so far and preparations for the remaining polls.

He said that CEA has appointed five new pros including three for the newly formed states. While Ram Narayan Meena would look after Chattisgarh, J P Agarwal Uttaranchal and Jagannath Patnaik Jharkhand. While the pro for Goa would be Suresh Shetty, Chakrapani is the new pro for Pondicherry.

Venod Sharma, spokesman for the Prasada camp, told that if postponement of the elections of PCC chiefs and AICC delegates took place it would amount to throttling democratic process in the party. He said that Prasada had already written a letter to Mirdha over the failure of the pros to take steps to hold the two elections along with that of the congress president. Bureau Report