Bhopal : The candidates in fray for the annual election to the working committee of the Bhopal Chamber of Commerce and Industries will call on the divisional commissioner and collector on Saturday seeking permission for the polls.
The polls for the committee of the Bhopal Chamber of Commerce and Industries were to be held on August 29, however, the polls were postponed due to the corona situation in the city.
Now that the district bar council elections are to be held in some time, the members of Chamber of Commerce are hopeful of getting a positive response from the administration, said Tejkulpal Singh Pali, a candidate from Pragatisheel panel in fray for the post of president.
“We have decided to meet Commissioner Kavindra Kiyawat and Collector Avinash Lavania on Saturday so that we can discuss the election permission and the arrangements . Earlier, the sub-divisional magistrate of Bairagarh, Manoj Upadhyaya, did not allow to hold elections, citing corona guidelines that were to be followed till August 31, as per the government’s orders,” said Pali.
“Though the government has not removed the restrictions in their new order for Ganesh Utsav, we are hoping that it will allow us to hold elections at least,” he added.
The polls are to be held at the Land Mark marriage garden in Halalpur, which falls under the jurisdiction of Bairagarh police station. The association has 2,962 members. In all 55 candidates from four panels are in fray for 24 posts.
SDM Upadhyaya told Free Press, “The reason for postponing the elections was that the polls would invite a huge gathering, which would be in violation of the Covid-19 guidelines. The commissioner has already issued orders not to hold polls. There is no use of getting restless. Polls will be held at appropriate time.”
Pali said, “We have opted for the marriage garden as an election venue to ensure social distancing. People will be given different time slots to reach out to cast their votes. We are taking every precaution possible. The administration should consider giving us permission.”
‘Must not make it prestige issue’
Lalit Jain, the sitting president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, “Elections should not be made a prestige issue. There are a lot of things going on in the city right now. The administration is busy with vaccinations and simultaneously checking Covid-19 cases which once again are on the rise. Additionally, there is Ganesh Utsav coming, and the administration has to manage that too. If there is a delay in elections, it should not be an issue.”
