Ranchi, Feb. 29: The Election Commission has gone out of its way to humour Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, alleged the Congress Legislature Party leader Furkan Ansari on Sunday.

Reacting to the poll schedule announced by the commission today, Ansari said, half in jest, that the poll panel appeared to have taken special care of the Vajpayee’s lucky numbers.

Numerologically, he claimed, the Prime Minister’s lucky numbers were 13, the date fixed by the commission for counting of votes.

The state will have polling on two days — Tuesday (April 20) and on next Monday (April 26). Only six constituencies in the state will have polling on the first day while the remaining eight constituencies will go to the polls on April 26.

The electoral suspense in the state will continue for 16 more days before the votes are counted on May 13, Thursday.

Like the rest of the country, in Jharkhand too, voting will be done through the electronic voting machines in all the constituencies.

Most of the constituencies affected by Naxalite activities will have polling on the first day itself, indicating the commission’s determination to ensure elaborate security arrangements. Polling will be held in Chatra, Koderma, Giridih, Palamau, Dhanbad on April 20.

On April 26, polling will be held in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Singhbhum, Khunti, Dumka, Godda, Rajmahal and Lohardaga.

In deciding to have a two-day polling in Jharkhand, the Election Commission appears to have taken into account the threat posed by banned Naxalite groups.

While the rebels have already given a call to boycott the poll, officials fear attacks by them to disrupt the poll process.

Although the state has only 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, a two-day poll and almost a week’s gap between them would enable mobilisation, re-grouping and deployment of para-military forces and polling personnel.

The model code of conduct has come into effect immediately, which means an end to not just transfers, except on the express orders of the poll panel, but also of announcements by politicians of different schemes and promises.

For the first time in a Lok Sabha election, each candidate will be required to file a statement of his moveable and immovable assets, which the commission has vowed to make public.

The announcement of the poll schedule on Sunday afternoon led to stepped up political activities in the state. Both ruling and the Opposition alliances got busy giving final touches to the list of probable candidates and firm up partnership details.

While the ruling NDA coalition faces the nagging problem of distributing seats between BJP and JD(U), the Opposition is having a tough time on sharing seats between Congress, JMM and the Left parties.

Chief electoral officer A.K. Pandey returned to the state capital from New Delhi late on Sunday afternoon and went into a huddle with senior officers.