A day before the Maharashtra municipal elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut launched a sharp attack on the State Election Commission, accusing it of granting an “open licence” to Mahayuti parties to distribute money among voters.
Raut criticised the Commission’s decision to permit door-to-door campaigning, despite the Model Code of Conduct being in effect and official campaigning having been ended on Tuesday.
"Campaigning ended yesterday. According to the rules, laws, and the Model Code of Conduct, campaigning officially stopped yesterday. However, suddenly, the Maharashtra Election Commission said that even after campaigning has ended, you can still go door to door and campaign," Raut said.
"What kind of rule is this? This directly gives the Bharatiya Janata Party, (Shiv Sena leader) Eknath Shinde, and (NCP leader) Ajit Pawar permission and a licence to distribute money openly during door-to-door campaigns," he alleged.
The Sena (UBT) leader further targeted the BJP, claiming the saffron party has never fought elections in a fair manner.
“In West Bengal, the Hindu-Muslim narrative has failed. It’s no longer about Hindu versus Muslim; it’s now about the Enforcement Directorate versus the Trinamool Congress,” Raut said, alleging that the BJP had conspired to remove nearly 60 lakh voters.
“Despite this, Mamata Didi will win with a massive majority,” he added.
Elections for 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, including Mumbai, will take place on January 15, with results to be declared on January 16.
Polling will be held from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm across 2,869 seats in 893 wards. A total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,931 candidates, including 1,700 in Mumbai and 1,166 in Pune.
