MUMBAI: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Saturday said that Maharashtra assembly elections will be held after Diwali and before November 26 when the term of the current House will end.
The EC officers were in Mumbai for the last two days to review the state’s poll preparedness. Kumar said the EC met 11 political parties, and all of them requested that the elections should not be conducted during the festive season.
“We met 11 representatives and leaders of national and regional parties, including the BSP, AAP, CPI(M), Congress, MNS, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Shiv Sena (Shinde). We also met various stakeholders like district magistrate, commissioner of police, and the director general of police. The political parties asked us to consider the festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath Puja before announcing the dates of the elections,” Kumar said, “We agreed to it and I am confident that Maharashtra will actively contribute to the festival of democracy that is election.”
In Maharashtra, there are 288 assembly constituencies, of which 25 are reserved for STs and 29 for STs.
Commenting on the controversy over delay by the state government in transferring officers, Kumar said that during elections, all officers are placed under the Election Commission on deemed deputation. “If they are in a position that can influence the elections, they will be dealt with and not allowed to be interfered in the process,” he said.
Kumar expressed concern over the “apathy” of urban and young voters in Maharashtra, and said efforts are being made to ensure maximum polling in the coming assembly elections in the state.
The CEC pointed out that Colaba in south Mumbai (40% voting), Pune Cantonment (43 %), Mumbadevi and Kurla in Mumbai (44 %) and Kalyan near Mumbai (41 %) were among the areas that recorded the lowest voter turnout in the Lok Sabha elections conducted this year.
He said voting day would be a paid holiday for daily wage earners and others in the unorganised sector to increase the turnout. “Our goal is to ensure maximum voter registration and participation in these elections,” he said, warning against fake news and deep fake technology on social media.