Sanjay Raut fires veiled jibe in first response to EC's nod for MLC polls in Maharashtra

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday granted permission for holding elections to the Legislative Council (for MLCs) in Maharashtra and stated that necessary guidelines will need to be ensured for safety against COVID-19 during the elections. Reacting to the decision, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that he was "grateful" to the Centre and the EC. 'I hope...the uncertainty that was created...it will end", in a veiled jibe at the state's Governor ahead of CM Uddhav Thackeray's May 27 deadline to become a MLA or MLC.

'I hope the uncertainty which was created will end'

Earlier, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had requested the ECI in a letter for holding the election to nine seats of the Legislative Council in the state that have been lying vacant from April 24, "with a view to ending the current uncertainty in the state."

He stated that the Central government has announced many relaxation measures regarding the enforcement of lockdown in the country. As such the elections to the council seats can be held with certain guidelines, said Koshyari. "Since Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray is not a member of either house of the State Legislature, he needs to get elected to the Council before May 27," he added. This comes after Thackeray spoke to PM Modi over the delay in his nomination to the state council.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora, who is stranded in the United States due to lockdown, joined the meeting via video conferencing. Arora went to the US early March and was supposed to come back in the first week of April but could not as India stopped international and domestic flights from March 25 onwards.

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Maharashtra Cabinet reminds Governor

On April 27, the state cabinet sent a reminder to Governor Koshyari on nominating Thackeray to the Maharashtra legislative council as the governor's pick. Koshyari is yet to accept the nomination, as two seats from governor's quota are currently unfilled - after 2 NCP councillors resigned to join BJP. After the cabinet's reminder, two PILs have been filed with the Bombay High Court, urging for holding immediate elections to get Thackeray elected to the Council.

Thackeray was sworn-in as the Maharashtra Chief Minister on November 28, last year. He is currently not a member of either of the House -- Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council. According to the Constitution, Thackeray has to be elected to either Assembly or Council within six months in order to continue in his post. Uddhav Thackeray had also dialled PM Modi regarding the nomination.

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(With agency inputs)