MUMBAI: Shiv Sena(UBT) on Wednesday claimed that the Nagar Parishad and Nagar Panchayat elections in Maharashtra are mired in controversy and administrative turmoil, following a ruling delivered by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court postponing all vote counting until December 21.
The party said the order mandates that the counting of the votes cast on December 2 be withheld for 19 days, and results be declared alongside the polls that were already postponed to December 20. The entire election process has become a "complete farce (khelkhondoba)" and a symbol of "slack governance and anarchy", with both the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the State Election Commission (SEC) facing intense accusations of corruption and procedural irregularity.
The Thackeray camp, in a scathing editorial in the party mouthpiece, 'Saamana', alleged that the entire process has been characterised by "chaos, confusion, and suspicion", with irregularities reported from voter lists to the actual voting process.