Finally, ZP polls slated for January 7
| Date :20-Nov-2019 |
Staff Reporter :
Suspense surrounding election dates for Zilla Parishad elections in five districts, including Nagpur, and 36 Panchayat Samitis in Maharashtra finally ended on Tuesday as State Election Commission (MSEC) fixed voting for January 7 next year. The two-and-a-half year long legal battle between State Government and MSEC is finally over with this announcement and the polling will be held after a wait of seven-long-years. While polling will be conducted on January 7, 2020 in all five districts, the counting of votes will be taken up on January 8. The results will be notified on January 10. This schedule will be implemented for Nagpur, Dhule, Nandurbar, Akola and Washim districts of Maharashtra. Kiran Kurundkar, Secretary, MSEC, released the schedule stating all details about the Zilla Parishad and PS polls. Candidates can file their nominations forms between December 18 to 23.
The scrutiny of nominations will take place on December 24, whereas the list of eligible candidates will be declared the same day. In case of rejection of nomination, candidates can file appeals in court on December 27 where as the court hearing date, releasing of final list of valid candidates and nomination withdrawal date is December 30. Similarly, the election symbols to candidates will be allotted by State Election Commission on December 30. The Supreme Court had directed State Election Commission (SEC) to conduct the elections to these five ZPs within a month.
However, SEC submitted before the Apex Court that it was not in a position to conduct elections as the data regarding population of Other Backward Classes (OBC) was not available to decide reservation of Circles. The Supreme Court had sought reply from the State Government in this regard as the election was delayed. Meanwhile, in accordance with the Supreme Court directives, State Government has dissolved these ZPs and appointed respective Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) as administrators. In case of Panchayat Samitis thereof, Block Development Officers (BDOs) were named as administrators.
With the State Cabinet decision, elections were deferred for all five ZPs and PS’ for four months in view of Assembly elections. As per the legal provisions, the elections to these bodies are to be conducted every five years. In February 2017, elections to 25 ZPs and PS’ thereof were conducted. However owing to petitions before the court and issues with reservation of Circles, the elections to Nagpur, Washim, Akola, Dhule, and Nandurbar ZPs could not be held within the stipulated period.
MCC comes into effect in five districts, 36 PS’ With the State Election Commission (SEC) having announced the schedule for the ZP and PS elections in five districts of Maharashtra, the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) now comes into effect. The MCC is a set of guidelines that political parties and candidates have to adhere to until the votes are counted. These guidelines deal with the general conduct of candidates, meetings and processions organised by political parties, polling day, polling booths, election observers, manifestos, and announcements made by the party in power. The MCC will remain till December 10.
