Friday, March 3 2006 10:24 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: BJP yesterday(Mar 2,2006) urged the Election Commission to defer the assembly poll in West Bengal citing lack of time for campaigning, while Congress and Trinamool Congress said it would be very difficult to canvass without disturbing students preparing for exams.

The first phase of election would begin on April 17 immediately after the Higher Secondary examination, and would hardly leave time for campaigning, state BJP president Tathagata Roy told reporters here.

"We urge the Election Commission to defer the election by two to three weeks so that we get reasonable time to campaign," he said.

He said that BJP would soon write to the EC requesting it to defer the poll and hoped that other parties would support it.

Stopping short of making such an appeal, Congress and Trinamool Congress said that the candidates contesting in the first phase would find it very difficult to campaign without disturbing students preparing for examinations.

In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner B B Tandon, state Congress general secretary Manas Bhuniya said, "This is definitely a curtailment of constitutional rights of the candidates who would contest the first two phases of election on April 17 and 22. This needs immediate attention of the EC."

Echoing him, Trinamool Congress general secretary Mukul Roy also said the candidates would definitely face difficulties in campaigning.