MVA seat-sharing talks: Raut expresses disappointment, says state Cong leaders can’t make decisions
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday expressed disappointment over the delay in the seat-sharing talks among MVA partners and claimed that Maharashtra Congress leaders are “not capable of making decisions”.
Talking to reporters, Raut said Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners – Congress, Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) –have reached a consensus on 200 of the 288 assembly seats.
The Rajya Sabha member said he spoke to Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Mukul Wasnik and the party's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala on Friday morning over seat-sharing. The Sena (UBT) leader said he would also speak to top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi later in the day.
“The pending decision should be expedited. Very little time is left. Maharashtra Congress leaders are not capable of making decisions. They have to send the list to Delhi frequently and then discussions happen. The decision will have to be taken at the earliest,” Raut said.
Late on Thursday evening, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said that a list of 20-25 assembly constituencies where MVA partners have overlapping claims will be sent to the high commands of each party to resolve the stalemate.
Patole told reporters that the MVA leaders involved in seat-sharing talks had a final meeting on Thursday. He said attempts were being made to declare the seat-sharing arrangement for all 288 constituencies by October 18-19.
In the Lok Sabha elections, the MVA performed impressively winning 30 of the 48 seats in Maharashtra. Assembly polls in the state will be held on November 20 and votes will be counted on November 23.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
