The Lok Sabha elections are likely to be held between April 15 and May 5, sources in the BJP disclosed here today.The sources said that the timing of the polls takes into account issues like school examinations all over the country, the harvest season in Haryana and Punjab, the heat in Rajasthan and Gujarat, the Kumbh in Madhya Pradesh and migrant labour in Bihar.They said the Election Commission had several ‘‘genuine difficulties’’ and the revision of electoral rolls would not be completed before the middle of March.School examinations are a problem, especially since 90 per cent of polling booths are located in schools and the bulk of poll staff comprise school teachers.Harvest season, according to them, ends in the third week of April. While the peasantry in Haryana and Punjab would be free from agricultural operations by then, migrant agricultural labour from Bihar would also be free to return home after the harvest. Weather conditions will not impede campaigning and polling, as it is not too hot at that time of year, they said.
