As counting for the local body polls has been deferred from December 2 to December 21, both ruling and Opposition parties have raised questions about the functioning of the State Election Commission (SEC). On Tuesday, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court directed the SEC not to commence counting procedures on December 3 for the local body polls held a day before.

Three days ago, the SEC announced the deferment of polls to local bodies in some areas to December 20 due to legal issues. Immediately, a petition was filed mentioning that the announcement of results would have an impact on the polls that had been deferred to December 20. Convinced by the argument, the court directed the SEC to start counting after all poll processes are completed and at one go on December 21.