Pawar slams PM over ‘one nation one election' as Maharashtra polls not announced

The NCP founder’s remark came a day after the Election Commission of India (ECI) had announced the schedule for assembly elections in Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir. The elections of Maharashtra and Jharkhand are also supposed to be conducted this year. However, the ECI cited the reasons such as heavy rainfall in Maharashtra and festivals including Ganesh Chaturthi, Pitru Paksha, Navratri and Diwali, which affected the works of BLOs (booth level officers), for not conducting the election in Maharashtra.The EC has also said that the J&K election was not a factor in 2019 because of which Maharashtra and Haryana elections were held together. But considering the security deployment requirements in J&K, the election body has decided to hold Maharashtra elections later.

Speaking with the reporters in Nagpur on Saturday, Mr Pawar, who is a former Union minister, said that the Prime Minister from the Red Fort had spoken about the idea of simultaneous elections in the entire country. “After 12 hours of his statement, why are the elections not conducted in four states simultaneously?” he asked.

The 83-year-old leader said there is no substance in the Prime Minister’s speech as the PM speaks about simultaneous elections but there was no announcement regarding the Maharashtra Assembly election.

It is pertinent to note that Assembly elections were held together in Maharashtra and Haryana in 2019. The term of the existing Assembly ends on November 26 and therefore the new House must be formed before that date.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray also criticised the poll body for not holding elections in Maharashtra Assembly. The Congress has alleged that the Maharashtra elections have been delayed to benefit the ruling parties in the state.