EC objects Jai Bhawani and Hindu word in UBT campaign song; Thackeray group requests to reconsider

Objections raised by the Election Commission on the word Jai Bhawani and Hindu in the campaign song have been taken as a rule. But the Commission will soon decide on the reconsideration application made by the Thackeray group, informed Chief Election Officer S. Chokilgam said on Wednesday.

The objections raised by the State Level Media Certification Committee of the Commission on some words in the campaign song of the Shiv Sena Thackeray group are as per the rules of the Commission. However, the Thackeray group has requested to reconsider both these words and the appellate committee headed by the Chief Election Officer will take a decision. Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dr Kiran Kulkarni informed that so far the Commission has raised objections in 39 such cases.

204 candidates in fray

Campaigning in eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Vidarbha and Marathwada namely Buldhana, Akola, Amravati, Wardha, Yavatmal-Washim, Hingoli, Nanded, Parbhani has ended and voting will be held there on Friday, April 26. A total of 16,589 polling stations have been provided for this and one crore 49 lakh 25 thousand voters are going to exercise their right to vote in this election. 204 candidates are in the fray in this phase. Maximum 37 candidates are in the fray in Amravati, Parbhani (34) and Hingoli (33).

Declining voter turnout has become a matter of concern for the commission as well as the political parties. Out of the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase, only Chandrapur Lok Sabha constituency has seen a 3 percent increase in voter turnout compared to last time, while all other constituencies have seen a decrease of one to two percent. Therefore, public awareness has been created to increase voting in the second phase.

INR 491 crore worth of property in the state seized during the election period. In Maharashtra, cash worth INR 43.96 crores, liquor worth INR 34.78 crores, precious metals worth INR 88.37 crores, narcotics worth INR 216.47 crores, and a total of INR 471 crores worth of goods have been seized.