Maharashtra Cong to hold state-wide protests on Jan 25 over ‘irregularities’ in assembly polls

Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) The Maharashtra unit of the Congress on Tuesday announced to organise state-wide protests on January 25 alleging irregularities in the last year’s state assembly elections.

January 25 is celebrated as the National Voters’ Day (NVD) to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Addressing a press conference here, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Nana Patole said, “The party will hold protests at the district and taluka levels across Maharashtra on January 25. Key leaders of the party will take part in the protests.”

He accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ECI of undermining democracy through manipulation of votes during the state assembly elections held in November 2024.

Targeting the ECI, he said, “Its conduct in the recent elections has raised serious doubts over its credibility. The BJP and its allies won the (Maharashtra assembly) election not through honest means but through trickery and deceit. Hence, our party has decided to hold day-long protests across the state.”

Some Congress leaders from Delhi will visit the state and interact with the media to highlight the issue, Patole said.

The Mahayuti retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP won 132 seats, the Shiv Sena 57 and the NCP got 41 seats. In the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats, the Congress 16 and the NCP (SP) candidates won 10 seats.

“How did the number of voters increase by 50 lakh within six months of the Lok Sabha elections and how 76 lakh votes were added after 5 pm on the polling day? Despite demanding transparency, the ECI has not provided any data. Now, a bill has been passed in the Lok Sabha to restrict sharing of voting details with the common man,” he said.

The Congress leader was apparently referring to the government’s tweaking of an election rule last month to prevent public inspection of certain electronic documents such as CCTV camera and webcasting footage as well as video recordings of candidates to prevent their misuse.

On the custodial death of Akshay Shinde, the lone accused in the Badlapur school sexual assault case, Patole welcomed the court’s directive to file cases against the policemen involved. He also demanded action against senior officials and ministry personnel “who authorised the encounter”.

The magistrate’s inquiry has held five Maharashtra policemen responsible for the custodial death of Shinde, and raised doubts on their claims of opening fire at him in self-defence in September last year.

Speaking on the custodial death in Parbhani, the Congress leader said, “Somnath Suryawanshi died due to police brutality during a combing operation in Parbhani. But Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis misled the state assembly by attributing his death to asthma. We will bring a privilege motion against CM Fadnavis.”

Patole also spoke about the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, and the criminal activities, such as extortion and kidnapping, in the district.

“Mafia in Beed operates under the protection of a minister. While an MLA from the ruling party has publicly revealed details about the mafia’s activities, the government’s response has been limited to superficial inquiries aimed at securing its position,” he said.

He also alleged that the infighting within the ruling allies over the allocation of guardian minister’s posts was still on.

“Personal gains rather than public welfare is behind this strife. CM Fadnavis should intervene during his ongoing foreign trip to allocate the posts of guardian ministers of Nashik and Raigad districts,” he said.

Talking about the crop insurance scam in Beed, he said insurance for barren land was fraudulently claimed, resulting in irregularities to the tune of Rs 350 crore.

He accused insurance companies and the government of being hand in glove to exploit the funds meant for farmers.

“While farmers have not received compensation, the companies have profited significantly by looting their funds,” he alleged.