"Heartfelt thanks": Jayant Patil welcomes Supreme Court's order on Maharashtra local body elections

Jayant Patil. File Pic

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader Jayant Patil has expressed deep gratitude to the Supreme Court of India for intervening in the long-delayed Maharashtra local body elections.

In a post on social media platform X, Patil said the apex court's directive marks a significant step in upholding democratic principles in the state.

"For the past 3 years, no elections for local self-governance institutions have been held in Maharashtra," Patil wrote. "These bodies have been run by administrative officers, denying the people their democratic rights."

On Monday, the Supreme Court issued an interim order mandating the state government and State Election Commission to announce elections within one month and complete the process within four months. The court's direction comes in response to repeated delays and legal complexities surrounding Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations in local bodies. The apex court clarified that the elections will be subject to its final judgment on the OBC quota issue.

"These elections are essential for workers of all political parties in the state," Patil added. "Even though delayed by 3 years, I, on behalf of our party, express gratitude to the Supreme Court of the country for ordering these elections, which are crucial for nurturing new leadership and keeping democracy alive."

The Supreme Court has also allowed the Election Commission to seek an extension if conducting the elections within the stipulated timeframe proves challenging. However, Patil warned the state government against using this provision to postpone the polls any further. "We sincerely hope that the state government does not delay the elections by using the Election Commission as an excuse," he said.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra state election commission to notify local body elections in the state within four weeks.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said the contentious issue of OBC reservation in local body polls of Maharashtra will be as it existed prior to the 2022 Banthia Commission report.

The top court accepted the commission report which recommended census to fix exact data on OBCs and reserve 27 per cent of seats for the category in local body polls in Maharashtra.

The bench on Tuesday fixed a timeline for concluding the local body polls and asked the state panel to conclude it in four months and granted liberty to the state election commission (SEC) to seek more time in appropriate cases.

The bench said the outcome of Maharashtra local body elections would be subject to decisions in pending petitions before the apex court.

On August 22, 2022, the top court directed the SEC and the Maharashtra government to maintain the status quo with regard to the poll process for the local bodies in the state.

The top court passed the order on a plea of the Maharashtra government seeking a recall of the apex court order by which it directed the SEC not to re-notify the poll process to 367 local bodies, where it has already begun, in order to provide reservation to OBCs.

The state government came out with an ordinance providing 27 per cent reservation to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body polls.

The government then moved the top court seeking a recall or modification of its order.

The top court on July 28, 2022, warned the state poll panel of contempt action if it re-notified the election process to such local bodies.

The apex court quashed the SEC notification to provide 27 per cent quotas for OBCs in local bodies in 2021 and in December of the same year, it ruled reservation for OBCs in local bodies would not be allowed unless the government fulfilled the triple test laid down in the top court's 2010 order.

The top court ruled the OBC seats would be re-notified as general category seats until then.

(With inputs from Agencies)