Mumbai, Dec 21 (IANS) The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshwardhan Sapkal on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the conduct of the recent nagar parishad and nagar panchayat elections in the state, alleging that the victory of the ruling Mahayuti allies was made possible only through the “blessings” and support of the Election Commission (EC).

Highlighting what he termed as the “shambolic administration” of the EC, Sapkal told reporters that the electoral process was marred by confusion and repeated delays in scheduling.

He asserted that the elections were far from “free and fair”, claiming that the ruling Mahayuti coalition employed a strategy of “Sama, Dana, Danda, Bheda” (persuasion, compensation, punishment, and division) to secure their win.

“The EC’s management was disorganised, leading to total chaos in the voting process. There was a widespread bogus voting, voter intimidation, and the massive influence of “money power”, he alleged.

Sapkal claimed the Election Commission has become a “puppet” in the hands of the ruling Mahayuti government, facilitating their success rather than acting as an independent watchdog.

“The public is deeply dissatisfied with the Mahayuti government led by the BJP due to rampant corruption and a failure to address civic issues. Under these circumstances, the results declared today do not reflect the true mandate of the people. It is a result of the blatant suppression of democracy and the Constitution. While the Congress did not achieve the expected success due to these factors, our ideological struggle to protect the Constitution will continue,” he said.

Sapkal added that the BJP’s dominance in these elections signals a “warning bell” for Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party.

He predicted that as part of the “Shat Pratishat BJP” (100 per cent BJP) agenda, the BJP would eventually sideline its current allies in Maharashtra.

–IANS

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