Maha legislative council polls before May 27: EC

May 01, 2020 11:24

Election Commission of India grants permission for holding elections to the Legislative Council in Maharashtra before May 27. The necessary guidelines will need to be ensured for safety against COVID19 during the elections.

This morning, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray paid a courtesy visit to Raj Bhavan on the occasion of Maharashtra Day and met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Their meeting lasted for around 20 minutes.

The move comes at a time when the Election Commission of India is scheduled to hold a meeting over elections to the Legislative Council in Maharashtra. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9.30 am today.Every year, Governor and Chief Minister meet on Maharashtra Day in a traditional parade at Shivaji Park but this year the celebrations are curtailed due to COVID-19.

So, the Chief Minister went to Raj Bhavan to call on the Governor, a CMO official said.

Earlier, Governor Koshyari had requested the ECI for the election to nine seats of the Legislative Council in the state.

The Governor has made the request in a letter to the Election Commission, to fill the 9 seats in the legislative council, that has been lying vacant from April 24, "with a view to ending the current uncertainty in the state."He has 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.

Earlier, the Election Commission had withheld the election process for these 9 seats in view of the COVID-19 situation in the country.

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