BJP Chief seeks clarity on staggered civic poll orders
Maharashtra BJP president Ravindra Chavan on Monday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to review and clarify revised election-related directives for postponing the polls in some civic bodies, claiming that recent orders had caused “confusion”.
Chavan, in a letter to the SEC, said that the polls for municipal councils were in their final stages, with campaigning concluding on Monday night and polling scheduled for Tuesday, but its latest directives have created uncertainties for candidates.
The SEC has postponed elections to some local bodies in Thane, Pune, and Ahilyanagar districts to December 20 in view of judicial appeals filed against the decisions of Returning Officers following the scrutiny of nomination papers.
The SEC decision comes in light of irregularities observed in the election process of some bodies, including the timeline for withdrawal of nominations and allocation of election symbols.
The poll body has stated that in several cases, the appeal verdicts from the District Court were delivered after November 22, or in some instances, candidates did not get the three-day period to withdraw nomination papers as per Rule 17(1)(b) of the Maharashtra Municipalities Election Rules, 1966.
As a result, the subsequent action of allocating election symbols on or after November 26 by returning officers was deemed illegal in these cases.
In his letter, Chavan said, “Due to the latest directives issued on November 29, elections for 24 mayor posts and 204 corporator seats are being reinitiated, which has led to confusion in several constituencies.”
He contended that conflicting interpretations of the SEC’s earlier directives and recent court orders had resulted in ambiguity regarding candidate names, symbols and ballot order.
“Where appeals are pending, the Commission must ensure clarity rather than forcing candidates to repeat nomination processes unnecessarily,” the BJP leader said.
Citing the Maharashtra Municipal Election Rules and previous directives of the Commission, he pointed out that the election process should not hinder candidates’ rights when matters are sub-judice, and urged the poll body to issue a uniform clarification to ensure transparency and avoid administrative difficulty.
“This is necessary to ensure the election system functions smoothly and that all candidates and voters are treated fairly,” he added.
Local bodies polls will be held in Maharashtra on Tuesday with voting scheduled for 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats, marking the first phase of a three-tier process mandated by the Supreme Court.
