New Delhi, Feb. 18: The BJP today petitioned the Election Commission not to delay the Karnataka polls on the pretext of implementing the new delimitation rules.

A delegation led by Arun Jaitley and Yashwant Sinha submitted a memorandum saying the elections could be held before the end of May, and booths in the constituencies affected by delimitation reorganised if work began now.

The party reiterated that it was opposed to an extension of President’s rule in the state even as it said it wanted the polls to be held after the delimitation orders were issued.

“The party is keen to have the election on the basis of the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission, already gazetted for Karnataka. There is an apprehension the commission may not be able to conduct the polls before May-end once the presidential notification of the date is issued for making the delimitation orders operational,” the memorandum said.

It isn’t necessary for the poll panel to wait for the notification to begin preparatory work to implement the recommendations, the party said.

As most Assembly constituencies fell within the same district, the party argued, it was possible to empower the deputy commissioners to revamp polling booths and bring out fresh electoral rolls.