The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the schedule for assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir on Friday. As the tenure of the Haryana and Maharashtra governments will end with a margin of a few days, it was expected that the two states would go to polls together.
However, the ECI said that Maharashtra poll dates will be announced later as along with Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir is scheduled for elections. The chief election commissioner also said that due to additional security requirements in Jammu & Kashmir, the polls in Maharashtra will be held later.
'ECI busted propaganda of BJP government,' says Aaditya Thackeray
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and MLA Aaditya Thackeray took a dig at the ECI for delaying the Maharashtra poll dates announcement citing the reason of security requirements in J&K. He said, "So for years that the BJP ruled the J&K and said the situation was improving. But we are seeing terror attacks on the rise. The election commission has reiterated the failure of the Union Govt to protect the common people of J&K."
Slamming the ECI and BJP further, Thackeray said, "For all that talk of 'one nation, one election' the Entirely Compromised Commission (aka Election Commission) states 'constraint on security forces' as a reason to not hold elections in Maharashtra, with simultaneous elections in J&K. What then has changed under the 'strong leadership of the BJP' in J&K?, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader questioned.
Rains, Ganpati and Diwali
Chief election commissioner, Rajiv Kumar also other challenges in announcing elections in Maharashtra in the next stage. The reasons cited by Kumar included heavy rainfall and major festivals like Ganpati and Diwali in Maharashtra.
Thackeray slammed the ECI for these reasons too. "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. What a shame this once-famed institution is turning out to be!"
Tenure of Maharashtra government
The tenure of the Maharashtra government ends in the last week of November. It is now predicted that the ECI will announce the poll dates for the state in September and the polling will be conducted in November, that is after the Diwali festival.
