Counting for local body elections, originally scheduled for December 2, has now been postponed to December 21. Since polling in some areas was deferred until December 20, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has directed that the counting process be conducted only after all polling is completed.
Reacting to the development, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “I have been following local body elections for 25 years, but I have never seen elections where polling is deferred a day before voting. This reflects a system`s failure. Measures should be taken to ensure such errors are not repeated in the future.”
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray as reacted to the same saying, “Anything is happening in this country.”
Commenting on the development, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Bawankule said, “No one even requested a change in the dates. No party wants a delay in the results; everyone wants them tomorrow. We had advised the Election Commission against this decision.”
7.94 pc turnout till 9.30 am in Maharashtra local polls; 2 `bogus` voters caught, claims Cong
An estimated 7.94 per cent of voters exercised their franchise in the first two hours of polling on Tuesday for elections to 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra, officials said.
Two suspected bogus voters were caught at a polling station in Buldhana barely an hour-and-a-half after voting began for the municipal council elections there, the Maharashtra Congress claimed.
It also alleged that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was bringing people to cast “bogus” votes in the Buldhana Municipal Council elections.
There was no immediate response from the authorities on the allegation.
The polling began at 7.30 am and will conclude at 5.30 pm, election officials said.
Till 9.30 am, 7.94 per cent of the electors cast their votes, they said.
A man allegedly attempted to cast a vote in the name of local resident Vaibhav Deshmukh at the Gandhi Primary School polling centre in ward no. 15 of Buldhana. The individual is said to be a resident of Kothali in Motala taluka, the Congress alleged in a statement.
Another person accompanying him was also detained, while Congress functionaries claimed that more individuals from Kothali and Ibrahimpur had been brought to Buldhana city with the intention of casting fraudulent votes.
The Opposition party alleged that Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad was bringing people from rural areas to cast “bogus” votes in the Buldhana Municipal Council elections.
