On September 3, the EC asked the Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to fly out of Bhiwani at the earliest and camp either in Delhi or in Chandigarh as campaigning had ended. Chautala has written to the President and the Prime Minister about the incident.

The unprecedented order was conveyed to Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala by Election Commissioner J M Lyndoh when he was campaigning in Bhiwani where his eldest son, Ajay, is fighting former chief minister Bansi Lal's son Surender Singh.

Lyndoh couldn't be contacted. CEC M S Gill refused to comment. He said he was in the midst of 4th phase of polling. ``In any case, it's old hat,'' he said.

Lyndoh, who first contacted the Haryana Chief Secretary to convey the `desire' of the EC, later had a heated exchange with Chautala inBhiwani over the telephone. Chautala wanted to know why he had been asked to leave the district and what was the legal authority of the EC to pass such an order.

It was allegedly pointed out that apart from the complaints from voters of harassment and intimidation by him, the EC had also received specific information from its own sources.

When Chautala told Lyndoh that he would like to camp at his native village, Chautala in Sirsa district, so that he could vote on September 5, he was told that it would be better if he camped at Delhi or Chandigarh.

Lyndoh, who is in charge of Haryana, told Chautala that if he did not fly out of Bhiwani, the EC would be left with no option but to cancel the polling.

Chautala contacted the top leadership of the National Democratic Alliance, including Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pramod Mahajan, for advice. But he was advised against getting into a fight with the EC.

Sources say that Chautala contacted the EC again to say that he did not have an aircraft ora helicopter to fly out of the district. So the EC told him to go by road to Delhi or Chandigarh. Chautala drove to Delhi and could not cast his vote on September 5.

In his letter to the President and the Prime Minister, he has pointed out that he had been ``dis-enfranchised'' by the EC.

When contacted, Chautala confirmed that he has written to the President and the PM but declined to give details. ``Wait until October 3 when the polling comes to an end,'' he said.