Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday ruled out the possibility of Maharashtra going in for simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
Setting at rest intense speculation in the political circles about the possibility of simultaneous polls in the State, Fadnavis said in Nagpur: “The talk about simultaneous polls in the state is a mere rumour floated by rival political parties. Take it from me in writing that there will not be simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in Maharashtra”.
The speculation about simultaneous polls had stemmed from the fact that the State Government has taken several major policy decisions at its Cabinet meeting held early this week. This is for the first time that the State Cabinet will be meeting on Friday — for the second time in a week. Speculation has it that as many as 50 proposals — including several major policy initiatives aimed at doling sops to various sections of the people –at its state Cabinet meeting scheduled for Friday.
Fadnavis sought to dismiss the possibility of simultaneous polls in the state, when media persons buttonholed him for a comment on a tweet put out by Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant alleging that the BJP-led government in the state was preparing to seek dissolution of the State Assembly and go in for Assembly polls along with Lok Sabha polls.
“The Shiv Sena, which was ruling the state in alliance with the BJP in the state in the nineties, had gone in for early Assembly polls in 1999. At that time, the people had shown the door to the Sena-BJP Government in the state. The situation is no different this now. The Congress is fully prepared to face simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state,” Sawant said.