The Congress on Thursday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to permit offline submission of nomination forms for the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections, citing that the online process is cumbersome and could result in candidate disqualifications due to technical glitches, news agency PTI reported.
Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar stated that the party delegation met State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare and requested that physical forms be accepted alongside online submissions.
“The nomination form runs into about 20 pages and seeks details, such as votes polled and election expenses from the previous polls, information already available with the commission. The complicated process can result in last-minute disqualification of candidates if their online submissions face technical issues,” he said.
Wadettiwar said he and state Congress President Harshawardhan Sapkal had conveyed this concern directly to SEC.
On political developments, Wadettiwar alleged that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar would soon be forced out of power due to growing internal contradictions within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.
He accused the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP of playing a “pro-BJP role” in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Satara, Sangli and parts of Marathwada, and said the Pune land deal case linked to the Deputy Chief Minister`s son Parth had exposed the party`s “weakness”, PTI reported.
“The situation is being created where Ajit Pawar will have to exit power. The first blow within the Mahayuti will be faced by his party,” Wadettiwar claimed.
On local alliances for the civic polls, the Congress leader said discussions were on and the picture would be clear by the last date for withdrawal of nominations.
The last date of withdrawal for Maharashtra local body elections is November 17. The polls will be held on December 2 in municipal councils and nagar panchayats.
The counting of votes will be held on December 3.
No formal proposal to include MNS as new partner in MVA: Congress
With less than three months left for the BMC and 28 other municipal corporations to hold elections, it is still unclear whether Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) will be part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance. Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal stated that there is no formal proposal to include MNS as the new partner in the MVA.
A day after MVA and MNS announced to stay united for local polls to fight BJP and its allies, the MVA leaders from Maharashtra briefed the media in Mumbai about their plans.
“The Congress alone cannot decide on the inclusion of the MNS. All stakeholders of the INDIA bloc parties will sit together and decide on the issue,” Sapkal added.
On November 1, all Opposition parties (MVA), including the MNS, had organised a protest rally in Mumbai against the irregularities in the electoral rolls. However, Sapkal’s absence from the rally had become a talking point as many in the Opposition, on condition of anonymity, claimed that the Congress was reluctant to have any proximity with the MNS for the latter’s tirade against the non-Marathi speaking people in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai.
(With PTI inputs)
