MUMBAI/PUNE: Polls to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly would be held on Oct.13 and the counting of votes on Oct.22, according to the announcement of the Election Commission of India on Monday evening, advisory of which was received by the State Election Commission on Tuesday morning.
At present the Congress shares power in Maharashtra with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as a major coalition partner. Maharashtra has a 288-member assembly.
According to the Election Commission, the code of conduct would come into effect with immediate effect. All the provisions of the model code will apply and will be applicable to all candidates, political parties, the state government and the federal government from Monday evening itself.
The Election Commission (EC) also stated that all steps have been taken to provide security in all the state including the Maoist affected areas in Maharashtra. Based on the assessment of the ground situation, central forces and state armed police drawn from other states will be deployed during the elections, the EC said.
As per the code of conduct, the state government cannot announce or initiate any developmental programs that may influence voters. The EC also asked political parties to ensure that no caste or communal feelings be raised for securing votes and not to use religious places for election campaigns.
Even as the date of polls has been announced, yet there is no information about the poll alliance between the Congress and NCP. This has put the NCP on a slippery wicket and a cause of concern for it. The Congress appears to be using the arms twisting tactics.
Former State Chief Minister and Federal Minister for Heavy Industries Vilasrao Deshmukh who has been urging the Congress high command to go solo in the elections, when asked whether he was trying to settle the score with NCP President and Federal Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, replied in negative and said that Pawar was a tall and great leader as compared to him. Asked if the Congress would go in alliance with the NCP for the Assembly polls, Deshmukh said that the Congress may forge an post poll alliance with the NCP, which indicates that the Congress will contest the polls on its own.
Meanwhile in Pune, the Guardian Minister for Pune, Ajit Pawar ruled out any possibility of so-called anti-incumbency factor working against the Congress-NCP alliance government in the State, while he maintained that both the parties would “correct the previous errors while facing the fresh elections to the Assembly.
Hoping for Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress would continue their pre-poll alliance for the October 13 elections in the State, Pawar stated that NCP has staked its claim on 124 seats, leaving 164 seats for the Congress. The seat-sharing would be finalized soon, he added.
He also criticized saffron brigade leadership saying that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been in trouble due to deep crisis in the national leadership, while Shiv Sena has no noteworthy leader other than Uddhav Thackeray to campaign for them in the elections.
The BJP national spokesman Prakash Javedekar who was also in Pune, while speaking to Arab News on Tuesday commenting about the BJP’s poll prospect said that even as the current turmoil in the BJP continues, the party will not have any impact on the state Assembly polls. “Whatever is happening at national level will have no impact on the state elections.” he said.
