Parties urge EC to schedule Maharashtra elections due to upcoming festivals

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Jumar on Saturday said that the political parties have requested the Election Commission to schedule the Maharashtra Assembly Elections taking into consideration the upcoming festivals like Diwali and Chhath Puja ANI reportedAccording to ANI Kumar while addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Saturday said that they have met a total of 11 party leaders which includes Aam Aadmi Party AAP Shiv Sena UBT and the Nationalist Congress Party SPWe have come here for the preparation of the upcoming Assembly elections that are going to take place in Maharashtra We met with the leaders of national parties and regional parties We met the stakeholders DM Commissioner of Police DGPWe met the leaders of a total of 11 parties including BSP AAP CPI M INC MNS SP NCP SP Shiv Sena UBT Shiv SenaThey have asked us to consider festivals like Diwali Dev Diwali and Chhath Puja before announcing the dates of the elections he saidThe CEC further claimed that the total electors in the states are 959 crores with 459 crore of them being males and 464 crores being femalesIn Maharashtra there are 288 constituencies of which ST constituencies are 25 and ST constituencies are 29 The term of the Maharashtra legislative assembly is ending on November 26 so elections have to be completed before that The total electors in the states are 959 crores with males being 459 crores and females being 464 crores Firsttime voters from 1819 years are quite encouraging around 1948 lakhs he saidThe Maharashtra Assembly elections will be held in 288 constituencies The Election Commission of India has yet to announce the dates for the polls ANI reportedThe upcoming elections will see a competition between the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition which consists of UBT Shiv Sena NCP Sharad Pawar faction and Congress and the Maha Yuti Alliance which includes the BJP Shiv Sena Eknath Shinde faction and the NCP Ajit Pawar factionEarlier at the review meeting of poll preparedness for the Maharashtra Assembly election sources told ANI the ECI asked the Superintendent of Police of districts in Maharashtra about the status of FIRs connected to electoral offenses during the Lok Sabha elections of 2024According to ANI Rajiv Kumar directed SPs to review all the cases that were related to personnel EVM and social media The CEC sternly stated that fake news on social media should be addressed quickly and with actionAccording to ANI sources State Police Nodal Officers were instructed to resolve all LS 2024 cases as quickly as possible and without any leniencyCEC Rajiv Kumar gave orders to all Superintendents of Police and District Election Officers during the review meeting directing them to make sure that polling places have the minimum facilities and proper management of voter queues at polling stations The CEC instructed DEOs to make inperson visits to polling places in order to oversee all setups put up benches for voters in queues supply drinking water and take care of parking in congested areas Additionally ANI sources claimed that appropriate signage and instructions for directing voters should be provided at each of the multiple polling places located in one areaECI team led by CEC Rajiv Kumar is on a twoday visit to Mumbai in order to review the poll preparedness of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections During the review meeting on Friday with Maharashtras top officials CEC questioned why over 100 police inspectors were holding key positions in Mumbai ANI reportedWith inputs from ANI