'State Election Commission a joker': Shiv Sena(UBT) on delaying Maha local body polls

Mumbai, Dec 2
Shiv Sena(UBT) on Tuesday slammed the State Election Commission (SEC) for abruptly postponing elections to 24 nagar parishads, and 154 wards in 76 other nagar parishads and nagar panchayats to December 20, saying that the move is a calculated political manoeuvre, and that the democratic process in Maharashtra has been thrown into disarray.

The SEC has "proven that its mind is not in the right place", and it does not possess the authority to postpone elections so suddenly, the party has said.

In a particularly harsh critique, the Thackeray camp, in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' editorial, labelled the SEC a "joker" in the political game, asserting that the government, and "especially the BJP, has made the Election Commission its joker". Furthermore, it has been a "planned mess and chaos", with the sole objective being to ensure a "benefit for the BJP".

According to the editorial, the ‘Lakshmidarshan' drama has been exposed with the SEC deferring the polls, citing court matters, while neglecting the use of money by ruling alliance partners to lure voters. “There has been unprecedented corruption and expenditure. These elections are the most expensive and corrupt witnessed in the last four decades. The ruling parties are allegedly engaged in a "shameless competition" to spend crores of rupees and "buy voters".The postponement is expected to increase the financial burden, as candidates will have to shell out more money to provide "new Lakshmidarshan" to get voters to the polling booths, the party alleged in the editorial.

The Thackeray camp claimed that this massive splurge is occurring despite the state of Maharashtra being burdened by a debt mountain of "Rs eight lakh crore".

“The Chief Minister and his two deputies are making arbitrary promises in campaign speeches, but the government treasury lacks the funds for their fulfilment. Instead, the political game is running solely on the 'strong private treasuries' of the rulers,” it alleged.

Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena demanded that the Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers should reveal the current state of finances before the people.

The editorial said that the SEC does not have the authority to hastily postpone elections in this manner. “Can the SEC postpone the elections without the Chief Minister's permission? Also, nagar parishads come under the purview of the state's urban development department. Then, is there any role for the urban development department in creating this confusion by hastily deferring polls in some local bodies? asked the editorial.

The Thackeray camp dismissed the Chief Minister's criticism of the SEC as "nothing more than an act".