4 months ago
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On the eve of elections to 29 municipal corporations, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) main Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray connected Wednesday criticised the State Election Commission (SEC) implicit its determination to usage printing auxiliary show units (PADUs) to facilitate ballot counting for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) canvass if method glitches originate successful physics voting machines (EVMs).
Mr. Raj accused the SEC of keeping governmental parties successful the acheronian astir PADUs portion Mr. Uddhav wrote to the canvass assemblage alleging that it was “acting successful favour of the ruling Mahayuti”.
Following the criticism, the SEC issued a connection clarifying that PADUs would beryllium utilized lone successful uncommon and exceptional cases of method failure. The machines manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) beryllium to the Election Commission and are being utilized exclusively for the BMC election, it said.
Vote counting utilizing PADUs indispensable beryllium carried retired successful the beingness of technicians from the BEL, it said. As per its directions, the BMC carried retired demonstrations of PADUs for representatives of governmental parties, the SEC said.
“This instrumentality volition show ballot counts successful lawsuit determination is simply a method issue,” BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani said, adding that they volition beryllium utilized successful the Mumbai civic predetermination for the archetypal clip and enactment arsenic backup units.
Meanwhile, BJP person and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule criticised the Thackeray cousins, saying, “This is preparedness earlier losing elections. They cognize Mumbai is going to ballot for development.”
Row implicit campaigning
The Thackeray cousins, who person joined hands to contention the BMC poll, besides deed retired astatine the SEC for allowing door-to-door campaigning adjacent aft the authoritative campaigning for the civic polls, wherever 2,869 representatives volition beryllium elected crossed 893 wards, ended connected January 13.
Mr. Raj asked wherefore the caller “tradition” was introduced conscionable earlier the civic polls and not implemented during the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
“Why was this concession given? Why was the regularisation changed? Is the SEC determination to bash what the authorities wants?” helium said.
The canvass body, however, clarified that the bid was “old and issued connected February 14, 2012”.
“According to that order, aft the extremity of nationalist campaigning, candidates tin conscionable voters and behaviour door-to-door campaigning wrong 100 metres of the polling station; but microphones cannot beryllium utilized and candidates cannot determination astir successful groups,” it stated.
