Taking a tough stand, the SEC has sought a report on the speech made by MNS chief Raj Thackeray even as it awaits the reply of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to charges of violating the electoral model code of conduct.
Taking a tough stand, the state election commission (SEC) has sought a report on the speech made by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray even as it awaits the reply of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to charges of violating the electoral model code of conduct.
State election commissioner Neela Satyanarayana said Pawar had written that he was unable to reply since he was not in the city. “He is expected to reply on Thursday or Friday,” she said.
Pawar had allegedly announced government sops at a rally in Pune after the poll dates were announced on January 3, while Thackeray had reportedly urged Marathi-speaking people not to buy milk or vegetables from north Indians at a rally on Monday.
“Thackeray has offered to send a CD containing his speech to clarify his statement,” Satyanarayana said.
Later, she added that the commission has sought his speech from independent sources.
After the SEC hears them out, it would decide if they had violated the code of conduct and if so, take action.
The SEC would also decide on if zilla parishad (district council) votes should be counted along with the municipal corporation votes on February 17, as demanded by BJP and Sena.
The zilla parishad polls are on February 7.
Satyanarayana said the SEC had planned separate counting because of there are not enough electronic voting machines (EVMs). Maharashtra needs around 40,000 EVMs for the ZP polls and another 26,000 for the municipal corporation polls.
“We have put in requests for more EVMs with the Hyderabad firm that makes the machines and with the Election Commission of India. If we get more EVMs before January-end, we will consider counting ZP and civic body votes on the same day. We will decide by this weekend,” she added.
Later, a senior SEC officer said the counting of both polls would take place on the same day. “To ensure fair polls, it would be better to count both together,” he said, adding that the SEC was confident of getting more EVMs.
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