Assembly polls must be conducted in single phase: Maha political parties 

Sanjay Jog

Mumbai, Sep 27 (IANS) Maharashtra political parties on Friday made various demands before the Chief Election Commission Rajiv Kumar including polling in a single phase instead of multiple phases, increase in expenses, immediate action against those spreading fake news on social media and providing facilities to the voters at the polling stations. 

The Election Commission of India (ECI) team is in Mumbai to meet various stakeholders to review the preparations for the upcoming Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election.

The Shiv Sena UBT delegation comprising veteran leader Subhash Desai and party MP Anil Desai pleaded that the ECI should not go for polling in multiple phases but instead conduct it in one phase while citing past instances.

The duo demanded that the staff on election duty should properly manage the voters’ queues so that they can exercise their votes early and the staff should undergo training for time management if the ECI expects 60 per cent or more voting.

The Shiv Sena delegation led by former MP Rahul Shewale pressed for voting in a single phase and demanded that the voters should be provided with various amenities at the polling stations to increase the voting percentage and complete the polling in a hassle-free manner.

A delegation of NCP SP led by party general secretary Ravindra Pawar demanded that the ECI should increase the present expenditure limit of Rs 40 lakh per candidate. Incidentally, the Ajit Pawar faction delegation comprising minister Anil Patil and general secretary Shivajirao Garje also made a similar demand.

Both NCP factions argued that the rise in expenses is also required as the candidates have to spend Rs 10 to 15 lakh in releasing the commercial advertisement for giving details with regard to criminal cases.

They pointed out that it would not be possible for a candidate to contest the election in a balance of Rs 25 lakh and therefore reiterated that an increase in polling expenditure is necessary.

Both factions also made a case for ECI to take immediate action against those spreading fake news on social media.

Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar demanded that the polling day should not fall on consecutive holidays and if the polling will be held in November considering the hot weather during the Lok Sabha elections the voters standing in long queues should be provided facilities such as sheds, fans and drinking water.

Shelar said that as per the ECI rules the voters are prohibited from carrying mobile phones and bags. However, he pointed out that due to this condition some people avoid going to the polling stations to cast their votes.

Therefore, he demanded that a token facility be provided to the voters at the polling stations to keep their mobiles and bags at a given place till they exercise their voting rights.

He further demanded that the ECI should carve out a booth to accommodate a smaller number of voters than its present norm of 1,500 voters. He said this is needed to avoid crowding at the polling stations.

The Congress opposed the ECI’s move to open polling stations in cooperative societies saying that it may lead to bogus voting. The Congress delegation comprising general secretary Munaf Hakim and senior leader Gajanan Desai also pressed for the removal of the state Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla from her post to safeguard the democratic process and ensure that the forthcoming elections are conducted in a fair, free, and transparent manner.

Further, the Congress also demanded that the state government staff from the level of clerks up to senior officers working in the same posts for many years should be immediately transferred for free and fair election.

(Sanjay Jog can be reached at [email protected])