NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) Chief Sharad Pawar slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday for his Independence Day speech at the Red Fort, where the PM emphasized the idea of ‘One Nation One Election’.
However, the Election Commission of India did not announce the election dates for Maharashtra on Friday, despite the Eknath Shinde-led government’s tenure being set to end on November 26.The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, which will elect the 288 members of the assembly, are expected to take place in November 2024.
Sharad Pawar pointed out the inconsistency in the Prime Minister’s speech, stating, “In his speech from the Red Fort, the Prime Minister put forward the idea of simultaneous elections in the entire country. Elections for Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana were announced, but elections for Jharkhand and Maharashtra were not announced. Hence, there is no truth in what he (PM Modi) says”.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also criticized the Election Commission on Friday for not announcing the dates of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The Election Commission announced three-phase polls in J&K and a single-round voting in Haryana for September-October. However, they stated that the assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were previously held together with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security requirements for J&K.
The Chief Election Commissioner also hinted that Maharashtra elections might be held after Diwali.
“There was heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, and BLOs (booth level officers) need to complete their work. Several festivals need to be considered as well. Ganesh Festival, Pitru Paksha, Navratri, Diwali—factoring all these, we decided to handle only two elections at a time,” the CEC said.
However, the Election Commission of India did not announce the election dates for Maharashtra on Friday, despite the Eknath Shinde-led government’s tenure being set to end on November 26.The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections, which will elect the 288 members of the assembly, are expected to take place in November 2024.
Sharad Pawar pointed out the inconsistency in the Prime Minister’s speech, stating, “In his speech from the Red Fort, the Prime Minister put forward the idea of simultaneous elections in the entire country. Elections for Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana were announced, but elections for Jharkhand and Maharashtra were not announced. Hence, there is no truth in what he (PM Modi) says”.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also criticized the Election Commission on Friday for not announcing the dates of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The Election Commission announced three-phase polls in J&K and a single-round voting in Haryana for September-October. However, they stated that the assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were previously held together with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security requirements for J&K.
The Chief Election Commissioner also hinted that Maharashtra elections might be held after Diwali.
“There was heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, and BLOs (booth level officers) need to complete their work. Several festivals need to be considered as well. Ganesh Festival, Pitru Paksha, Navratri, Diwali—factoring all these, we decided to handle only two elections at a time,” the CEC said.