Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
Credit: PTI Photo
Mumbai: As Maharashtra gears up for local body elections, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday played a major political card by proposing a meeting of “all party delegation” with Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam to flag concerns related to the electoral process.
The delegation would include the leadership of opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi - NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, state Congress President Harshavardhan Sapkal.
MNS founder-President Raj Thackeray, who is not yet formally part of the MVA though an electoral alliance with the Shiv Sena (UBT), will also join in.
Incidentally, this is once again that the Thackeray cousins have come together on one platform after their campaign against the Fadnavis-headed BJP-led Maha Yuti dispensation against its plans to introduce Hindi as the third language in the primary schools under the three-language formula of New Education Policy.
At the same time, Raut has written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging him to join the all-party delegation on October 14.
“A delegation of all-party leaders from the state will meet Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam. Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, Harshvardhan Sapkal, Raj Thackeray and other leaders will participate in this meeting. I request you to participate in the delegation yourself and enhance the prestige of the all-party delegation,” Raut, a Rajya Sabha member said in a letter to Fadnavis.
“The Chief Minister of the state, Devendra Fadnavis, is requested to participate in this all-party delegation. This is not politics but an effort to save democracy. After the meeting, all leaders will address a press conference at Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan. Jai Maharashtra!” he said.