Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI) for not announcing the election schedule for Maharashtra alongside those for Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir. Thackeray took to social media, accusing the ECI of being influenced by political pressure.
“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? Terrors attacks are on the rise, which is a fact. 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,” Thackeray said in a post on X.
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“What a shame this once famed institution is turning out to be! I guess their boss isn’t yet giving them permission to hold elections in Maharashtra. This illegal and unconstitutional regime of bjp and mindhe have no moral right to continue. They never had one. The state has rejected them once and will reject again. Seems like the EC is giving them breathing time to allow their contractors to loot our State!” he added.
Earlier in the day, the ECI announced three-phase polls in J&K and single round voting in Haryana in September-and October. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were held along with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security requirements for Jammu and Kashmir.
“In 2019, when elections for Haryana and Maharashtra assemblies were held together in October, we didn’t have the added responsibility of conducting elections in Jammu and Kashmir. This year, we are conducting elections there in three phases, which requires significant human and technical resources,” Kumar explained.
He further added, “Since the start of the year, we have not only been preparing for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections but have also conducted state assembly elections in four states. Our aim is to prevent the EC staff from experiencing undue stress.”
Regarding the Maharashtra elections, CEC Kumar mentioned, “We need additional preparation time due to delayed groundwork caused by the monsoon. Additionally, with several festivals, including Ganeshotsav, Navratri, and Diwali, occurring between September and October, scheduling elections for a large state like Maharashtra requires careful planning.”