Maha polls likely after Diwali, says EC; MVA slams delay

The Election Commission on Friday said the Maharashtra assembly elections will be announced later, citing the requirement of additional security forces for the Jammu and Kashmir polls and the packed festival season in the western state.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said heavy rains in Maharashtra also led to delays in updation of the voters list in the state, which is considered a crucial step in the electoral process.

Kumar also hinted that the Maharashtra elections could be held after Diwali.

"There was heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, BLOs (booth level officers) have to complete their work. There are several festivals too that have to be factored in. Ganesh Festival, Pitru Paksha, Navratri, Diwali, all that put together this is what we thought we could handle as two elections at a time," the CEC said.

Kumar said the assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana were held together in 2019, but Jammu and Kashmir was not a factor at that time.

He said there are four elections this year -- Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and a fifth election in Delhi early next year.

"Depending on the requirement of forces, which is on a higher tone in J&K, we have decided to conduct two elections together at a time," Kumar said, making it clear that the elections to the Maharashtra Assembly cannot be announced in the middle of the election process in Jammu and Kashmir.

The CEC said the elections in Maharashtra will be held before the tenure of its assembly ends.

The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi allies Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar on Friday criticised the Election Commission of India for not declaring the poll schedule for Maharashtra along with that of Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, and said it seems the ruling Mahayuti wants more time to "fool" the people of the western state with their fake promises.

Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray said despite the talk of "one nation, one election", the ECI cited "constraint on security forces" as one of the reasons for not holding polls in Maharashtra simultaneously with J&K and Haryana.

The former state minister took potshots at the poll panel for skipping announcement of the election schedule of Maharashtra, where the term of the current assembly will last till November-end.

"What then has changed under the "strong leadership of the BJP" in J&K? Terror attacks are on the rise, which is a fact. Another reason they give is the "rains" in Maharashtra and therefore they haven't completed their formalities. Only Maharashtra has monsoons, not other states, as per the election commission. I guess their boss isn't yet giving them permission to hold elections in Maharashtra," Thackeray said in a post on X.

NCP-Sharadchandra Pawar national spokesperson Clyde Crasto argued the BJP-led Mahayuti, the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, is biding time with the help of the poll panel.

The ECI has not declared the Maharashtra election schedule because the governing Mahayuti (grand alliance) wants more time to "fool" the people of the state with their fake promises, he maintained.

"They want to lure the people into voting for them by announcing a monsoon of schemes and freebies that they know they will not be able to implement," said the NCP-SP spokesperson.

Proof of fooling the people was visible when Independent MLA aligned to the Mahayuti, Ravi Rana, said the monthly stipend of Rs 1,500 to be given to eligible women under the state government's 'Ladki Bahin Yojana' will be taken back if they (ruling bloc) do not get the votes of beneficiaries, Crasto said.

The Mahayuti, which also includes the Shiv Sena and the NCP, is biding time with the ECI's help because the voters of Maharashtra gave them a drubbing in the recent Lok Sabha Elections, he emphasised.

The ruling coalition won 17 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra as against 30 by the opposition MVA, which consists of the Shiv Sena-UBT, the NCP-SP and the Congress.

But none of these tactics are going to work for them because the people of Maharashtra are wise and they will once again reject the Mahayuti in the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, the NCP-SP spokesperson claimed.

Meanwhile, reacting to Thackeray's critical comments, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Milind Deora said its disappointing, but not unexpected to see the former state minister play a reckless and irresponsible political game.

Instead of supporting the democratic process in J&K, Thackeray is deliberately undermining the poll exercise in the Union Territory, Deora maintained.

The Maharashtra assembly still has more than three months' term left, giving the ECI ample time to organize elections as per established norms, argued the Shiv Sena leader.

The Mahayuti is fully prepared for assembly elections and instead of creating confusion, Thackeray should respect the law, support democracy and think before making baseless statements, Deora asserted, hitting out at the opposition MLA.