After a dispute arose over two dates for the results in the same election process held for municipalities, the matter was filed in court. Therefore, following the directives of the Nagpur bench, the date for announcing the results of the municipal and municipal council elections held in the state has been set to December 21. However, outside the EVM strongroom of the Ashta Municipal Council in Sangli district, a large number of voters, activists, and officials gathered, claiming that there was a discrepancy between the voting conducted and the records on the Election Commission's list. Senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party and MLA Jayant Patil visited Ashta after this incident to inspect the strongroom.
Due to the court's decision, safeguarding the EVM voting machines for as many as 18 days and ensuring tight security arrangements there is a major challenge for the district administration, the election commission, and the police. Moreover, a large number of workers had gathered outside the EVM strongroom of the Ashta Municipal Council in Sangli district. Voters and leaders of the alliance alleged discrepancies between the voting conducted in the Ashta Municipal Council yesterday and the figures announced by the administration. The Ashta City Development Alliance also alleged that there was an increase of nearly two thousand votes between the figures provided by the administration at night and those announced online in the morning.
Senior leader of the Nationalist Party and MLA Jayant Patil reached Ashta in Sangli district and reviewed the EVM and voting statistics. At this time, after the voting process in Ashta, Patil visited the strong room where the EVM machines are kept and inspected it, gathering information regarding security.
Broadcast outside the strong room via LCD
Cameras should be installed both inside and outside all polling stations and strong rooms where EVMs are kept in Maharashtra. Additionally, a large display should be set up outside the room through an LCD and placed before the public, as demanded by MLA Jayant Patil. Meanwhile, after Jayant Patil arrived, some officials tried to enter through the gate. However, the police and security personnel stopped the crowd outside, closed the gate, and prevented them from coming inside. As a result, citizens expressed anger, leading to some tension for a while.
What is the matter
In the Ashta Municipal Council, under the leadership of MLA Jayant Patil and Vaibhav Shinde, the Ashta City Development Front was established, with Vishal Shinde as the candidate for the post of mayor, while Ajit Pawar from the Nationalist-Mahayuti had Praveen Mane as their candidate for mayor. According to the figures given at night by the election administration in the Ashta Municipal Council, the voting was 22,864. However, the online uploaded voting count was 24,913. The Ashta City Development Front alleged that a total of 2,049 votes had increased, and office bearers gathered outside the strong room. Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Party, Ubattha Shiv Sena, Shinde Shiv Sena, and independent candidates gathered outside the strong room objecting to the increase in votes.