Tensions of Mahavikas Aghadi have increased on the backdrop of Legislative Council elections. This is because the High Court refused to allow former state Home Minister and NCP leader Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik to vote. The High Court has rejected a petition seeking permission to vote in the Assembly elections. Prisoners do not have the right to vote, the High Court accepted the ED's argument.
Former Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik should be released for the polls on Monday (June 20). The case was heard before Justice Nizamuddin Jamadar on Thursday (June 16). After hearing arguments from both the sides, the High Court reserved its judgment till noon today (June 17). The court finally declared the verdict at 2:30 pm today, which is against Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik.
Claiming that no prisoner has the right to vote, the ED had strongly opposed the demands of Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik. As a prisoner, if there are restrictions on your movements and speech, how can you be given the right to vote ?, claimed the ED. The High Court accepted the argument and rejected the plea of both.
This decision of the Mumbai High Court is a blow to the Mahavikas Aghadi. Because in the forthcoming assembly elections, two votes have been reduced. Legislative elections will be held on June 20. Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh had filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to vote in the by-elections. After last week's dramatic events, Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh were trying to ensure that voting rights in the Legislative Council, like in the Rajya Sabha, were not revoked. But due to the court's decision, both will no longer be able to vote. As a result, the concern of the Mahavikas Aghadi has increased.