Sharad Pawar flays Modi, Election Commission over assembly poll schedule

NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday criticised the Election Commission for not announcing the assembly elections in Maharashtra along with Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated “one nation one election”, the poll panel had not announced the election schedule for both Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Speaking to journalists in Nagpur, Pawar said there was no “truth in what Modi says”. Modi had in his Independence Day speech pitched for “one nation one election”.

The Election Commission on Friday announced three-phase polls in Jammu and Kashmir and a single-phase polling in Haryana in September-October.

The poll panel said assembly elections in Maharashtra, which were held along with Haryana in 2019, will be announced later due to security concerns vis-à-vis Jammu and Kashmir.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP-SP had earlier claimed that the BJP wanted more time to “fool” the people of Maharashtra with its fake promises.

Asked about tensions in Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar over remarks by Hindu religious leader Ramgiri Maharaj against Prophet Mohammad, Pawar said this was not in the interest of society. “There is a need for peace today, and society and politicians should be patient and cautious about it,” Pawar said.