Bengaluru: According to the notification issued by the Electon Commission of India, the Karnataka will vote on April 18 and 23. Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central and Bengaluru South, Chikkballapur and Kolar are slated to vote in the first phase on April 18th which falls on Maundy Thursday, a very holy day in the Christian liturgical calendar. The Christians are expected to be engaged in special prayer services in preparation for Good Friday, that may make it difficult for them to take part in voting. Concerned, the Archbishop of Bengaluru Most Rev. Dr. Peter Machado has urged the Election Commission of India to change the polling date of April 18.
Archbishop Peter Machado has written a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora, in which he has stated, “It may be brought to your kind attention that many of our schools are designated as polling stations, which is located within the Church premises. As such it may cause great obstacles to logistics that might hinder the smooth process of polling in those places.”
Also concerned over the Model Code of Conduct, the Archbishop has also stated in the letter that being the Holy Week, churches would attract large crowd within the 100 meters boundary of polling stations, which in turn may cause violation of the Model Code of Conduct.
Copies of the letter have been sent to the Prime Minister and Election Commissioners of all the states where polling would be held on April 18.
