The 35-day term for the Maharashtra Assembly elections is shorter than usual, according to the opposition, even though the Election Commission allowed the administration ample time to unveil a number of plans.
It further noted that whereas the state’s Lok Sabha elections this year were conducted in five parts, elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly—the second largest after Uttar Pradesh (403), will take place in a single phase on November 20.
The Election Commission declared on Tuesday that the vote count would be held on November 23.
Vijay Wadettiwar, Leader of Opposition in the outgoing assembly and Congress leader, stated, “The Election Commission of India (ECI) normally permits political parties a minimum of 40 days to decide their candidates, submit nominations, and conduct campaigns. However, this time it is 35 days, which is rare and means we have less time to campaign.
READ MORE| ECI Released The Election Dates of Maharashtra & Jharkhand
“It could be a part of some plan to give the Opposition little time,” he claimed, adding that the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government has rampantly announced schemes in the run-up to the elections without any application of mind and it will hit the state coffers.
Asked about the fate of these schemes if the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance came to power, Mr Wadettiwar said, “We note that some schemes will strain the state’s finances, but we will not scrap all of them. We will evaluate and continue the schemes that genuinely aim to help the people. Additionally, our administration will prioritise improving the safety of women in public spaces.”
Jayant Patil, state president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), said, “The ECI held Lok Sabha elections in five stages in Maharashtra, but it has now decided to hold elections for the assembly in one stage. It is good that the NDA government in Maharashtra will lose in one stroke.”
The announcement of the Assembly elections should have been made earlier, he said, but the state government was given enough time to announce welfare schemes and sanction development works.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “Compared to the Lok Sabha, the performance of the MVA which is part of the INDIA bloc will be better. There is no need to worry about the seat-sharing formula.” He also claimed that the questions raised by several Opposition parties over the possible misuse of EVMs were not properly addressed by the EC officials.
Get the latest news updates and stay informed with FELA NEWS!
Source: NDTV
