Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) on Sunday accused the Centre of having plans to impose President’s rule in Maharashtra and prevent the Opposition Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA) from coming to power.
For this, Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut pointed fingers at Union Home Minister and BJP’s chief strategist Amit Shah.
According to Raut, the defeat of the Maha Yuti comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP is very clear.
Raut, a key leader of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (I.N.D.I.A.) Opposition bloc, also slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) for siding with the BJP.
“The term of the current (14th) Maharashtra Legislative Assembly ends on 26 November. The voting of new (15th) Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will take place on 20 November. Counting of votes would be taken up on 23 November. There is barely 48 hours to form the next government,” said Raut.
According to him Shah seems to have accepted that the party would not win the Maharashtra elections.
“There appears to be a strategy to limit the time available for the Maha Vikas Aghadi to discuss and decide about government formation. If the MVA constituents fail to stake a claim in two days, the Governor will recommend the President's rule for six months,” said Raut.
He alleged that the ECI has scheduled the polls in such a way that it restricts the MVA's opportunity to form a government effectively. "The ECI's actions are like that of a BJP spokesperson. It supports the EVM but conveniently keeps mum when we speak about the alleged tampering of these machines in the Haryana state elections,” he said, adding that the poll body has not taken any action on complaints about the misuse of money during the Lok Sabha elections."
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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