Devendra Fadnavis calls SEC’s move to delay Maharashtra local body polls ‘wrong’

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said the State Election Commissions decision to postpone some of the Maharashtra local body elections was wrong reported news agency PTIThe decision to postpone some of the elections triggered by someones petition in court and subjudice matters was unfair to other candidates Fadnavis told reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar before leaving for his poll campaign rally in PaithanDeputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also termed the SECs decision to postpone some of the elections as unfortunateElections to various local bodies in the state are scheduled for Tuesday although some of them have been postponedI dont know who the Election Commission is consulting But as far as I know about law elections cannot be postponed because someone has moved the court Fadnavis said reported PTIIf we see in Nilanga in Latur district the entire process for the local body polls is completed Someone whose candidature was rejected went to the court The candidates who filed their nominations got a complete time for the election process Cancelling the elections at such a moment because someone has gone to the court is completely wrong he said reported PTIThe Election Commission is an independent institution and has the right to make decisions But the postponement of the elections is completely wrong the CM saidHe said the decision was unfair to the candidates who had completed the poll formalitiesTheir entire work is wasted and they have to do campaigning for 15 more days We will give a representation to the Election Commission about this Fadnavis saidThe Election Commission received many representations about this against the postponement yesterday They had a meeting with the district collectors but the decision to postpone some of the polls was taken We have to accept this decision but the decision is wrong he addedDeputy CM Shinde also termed the ECs decision to postpone the elections as unfortunate and said the poll process has never been stopped once the nomination papers are filed and withdrawn and the campaigning is at the fag endElections are never stopped once the process begins till it concludes But this time it has unfortunately been stopped I will talk about it once I gather all the information Shinde told reporters before departing for Paithan for a poll rallyMeanwhile on the tension between allies BJP and Shiv Sena in Sindhudurg ahead of the local body polls Fadnavis said he supports everyone who behaves wellI dont stand with a wrong person even if the person is from my party But the situation of Rane versus Rane is not good We have to introspect about this after the elections he addedThe Sindhudurg police on Saturday registered an FIR against Nilesh Rane an MLA of the Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena for trespassing into a BJP supporters house Rane had raided the BJP supporters house and claimed to have found bags of cash meant for distribution to voters ahead of civic pollsHis brother and state minister Nitesh Rane who is a BJP leader later rejected the allegations arguing that many political workers had legitimate business income and keeping cash at home should not be construed otherwiseNitesh Rane also said that Shiv Sena workers campaigning for a rival Shiv Sena UBT candidate in Sindhudurg district raised doubts about Deputy CM Eknath Shindes past claims that he had rebelled against the then Uddhav Thackerayled Maha Vikas Aghadi government due to injusticeWith inputs from PTI