Rajya Sabha polls: Counting delayed in Maharashtra, objection drama unfolds

Counting for the Rajya Sabha polls was delayed because the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP raised an objection that three Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA voters had violated the conduct of election rules and the ruling party also reported irregularities by the opposition On Friday the development added a new chapter to the elections that turned out to be a high voltage drama because of the fierce contest between the ruling and oppositionMinisters Jitendra Awhad NCP and Yashomati Thakur Congress were accused of handing their ballots to their respective state party presidentsagents Jayant Patil and Nana Patole instead of merely showing them for verification as per rules Shiv Senarsquos Suhas Kande was reported for showing his ballot paper to a person other than the partyrsquos official agentThe MVA complained to the CEC that BJPrsquos Sudhir Mungantiwar and independent Ravi Rana violated the conduct of election rules as well Mungantiwar has been reported for handing his ballot paper to the partys agent while Rana has been accused of showing a copy of Hanuman ChalisaMinisters Bachchu Kadu and Yashomati Thakur also arrive for the polls PicsPradeep DhivarThe Vidhan Bhavanrsquos returning officer had dismissed objections raised by both sidesValid and invalid votes had a great bearing on the fate of the candidates more importantly the BJPrsquos third contestant Dhananjay Mahadik and Shiv Senarsquos second nominee Sanjay Pawar Both camps had made all possible efforts to garner votes from 29 members of smaller parties and independents The MVArsquos former home minister Anil Deshmukh and a sitting minister Nawab Malik who are in the ED custody were not allowed to vote by the courtIn all 285 members of the Assembly voted in the elections for six seats for which seven candidates were in the ring Indicating the seriousness of the fight two seriously ailing BJP members travelled to Mumbai from Pune for polling Rajya Sabha polls are held in open ballot voting Every political party which has its members as MLAs can appoint an authorised agent to verify as to whom its members have voted for Independent MLAs are required to cast their vote without showing the marked ballot to any agentIn normal circumstances the counting was expected to start by 5 pm but it could not begin because the CECrsquos mandatory clearance was awaited till late Friday evening The CEC was sent video footage of the incidents In regular procedure the returning officer statersquos chief election officer and election observer send their reports to the CEC after which the counting is permittedBJPrsquos objection The BJPrsquos members demanded that the three votes be rendered invalid Similarly the MVA also objected to Mungantiwarrsquos act of handing his ballot paper to the partyrsquos agent Chandrashekhar Bawankule instead of showing it for verification The objection from both sides was rejected by the returning officer which led the BJP to take further stepsThe BJPrsquos national delegation rushed to the Chief Election Commissioner in New Delhi with complaints from Maharashtra and Haryana The party cited similar irregularities in the 2017 Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat Following the Congressrsquos objection over crossvoting by its members two votes were judged invalid paving the way for the partyrsquos heavyweight the late Ahmed Patelrsquos victory Then the counting could start at the stroke of midnightBJPrsquos election agent Parag Alwani demanded a hearing from the authorities before the votes are decided valid or otherwise ldquoThey violated the rules the procedure and conductrdquo said the Vile Parle MLAThe partyrsquos senior leader in New Delhi Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters that a BJP delegation had met the CEC and demanded action not only in Maharashtra but Haryana as wellMVA cries foulAwhad and Thakur refuted the allegations Awhad said the BJP had gone crazy and raised insane objections ldquoThe BJP is scared because we are winning all four seats I committed no offence I just voted and as per rules I showed my vote to the partyrsquos agent for verification If they know it we also know the rulesrdquo he saidThakur said the BJP had been seeing defeat ldquoThey have been creating confusion ever since the election process began Today as well they are up to some foul game in the polling boothrdquo The Senarsquos first candidate Sanjay Raut said the BJP had started a foul game because its ED game had failed ldquoWho delayed the counting and why Since their ED game has failed the foul game has started We will win in any casehelliprdquo he reactedlsquoHave elections every three monthsrsquoBahujan Vikas Aghadi president Hitendra Thakur with three votes under his belt kept everyone guessing on Friday He and his two MLA colleagues arrived much later and didnrsquot reveal who they had voted for However he said many of his Assembly colleagues called him saying he should stay put and noncommittal to any party ldquoMy colleagues told me that because of my stand their demands were being met Itrsquos good that someone has benefited because of me It will be great if such elections are held every three monthsrdquo he said with a tinge of sarcasmPolls in numbers6 Rajya Sabha vacancies7 ContestantsSanjay Raut Sanjay Pawar SenaPiyush Goyal Dr Anil Bonde Dhananjay Mahadik BJPPraful Patel NCPImran Pratapgarhi Congress285 MLAs voted on Friday