With electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh ready, the decks have been cleared for the announcement of poll dates. The only problem is that Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and his NDA allies now want simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the Assembly. Election Commission sources said several issues have to be taken into account before the dates are finalised. ‘‘Simultaneous polls will reduce expenditure to half. School exams and the harvesting season are the other two points that are being considered.’’ However, the EC is relieved about Andhra’s electoral rolls. ‘‘It has been done to our satisfaction,’’ an official said. About 64 lakh names were deleted from the voters’ list. ‘‘This is the maximum deletion ever. We had to conduct a massive house-to-house verification and districtwise survey,’’ EC’s legal expert S.K. Mehendiratta said. The EC zoomed in on the discrepancy after voter percentage was found to be very high even in small constituencies.
