'Lok Sabha Election Can Happen in December': Sharad Pawar's Grandnephew Rohit Pawar Cites Govt Instruction to Check EVMs

Amidst the power struggle between Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar for control of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), MLA Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of the 82-year-old veteran politician, has claimed that the Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections may be held earlier than scheduled.

The ANI report claimed that Rohit Pawar said that officials received instructions four days ago to initiate the checking of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) or even start manufacturing new EVMs.

“This indicates that the Lok Sabha elections could take place in December 2023. The Maharashtra Assembly election, originally planned for October 2024, might be conducted concurrently with the Lok Sabha polls,” stated Rohit Pawar.

He further explained, “The checking of EVMs usually takes place 5-6 months prior to the Lok Sabha or state elections. However, the recent instruction given to Maharashtra officials to repair and manufacture EVMs suggests the possibility of conducting the Lok Sabha elections in December 2023.” Rohit Pawar shared these insights while speaking with reporters.

Rohit Pawar claimed that the main reason behind this move is the loss of the BJP in the Karnataka elections. “The party lost in Karnataka and the same situation can arise in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and other states. The party broke NCP and Shiv Sena by keeping the forthcoming elections in mind,” he said.

“This is happening because of BJP’s loss in the Karnataka elections as the same can happen in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and other states. BJP tried to break NCP and Shiv Sena keeping in mind the forthcoming elections,” Rohit Pawar said.

Meanwhile, the crisis in NCP is escalating with the two factions in Maharashtra calling separate meetings on Wednesday.

NCP suffered a split on Sunday with Ajit Pawar joining the Eknath Shinde-BJP government along with eight other MLAs.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Sharad Pawar has moved a disqualification petition against the nine MLAs to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Ajit Pawar and Chhagan Bhujbal along with Dilip Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Mundo, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil joined Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis Maharashtra government on Sunday.

(With inputs from ANI)