Collector in tension due to fielding more candidates..?
The collector of Maharashtra's Dharashiv district has expressed concern that the maratha community may field 'too many' candidates beyond the capacity of EVMs. He has sought advice from the election commission to deal with such a situation. Dharashiv, earlier known as Osmanabad, is one of the eight districts that fall in the Marathwada region of the state. maratha Reservation Movement activist Manoj Jarange is running a movement demanding reservation for Marathas in education and government jobs.
Dharashiv district Magistrate Sachin Ombase, in his letter dated march 6, said the possibility of the 'disgruntled' maratha community fielding 'a number' of candidates beyond the capacity of the EVM (electronic voting machine) cannot be ruled out. He said that using ballot papers could also lead to such issues and could pose the challenge of inadequate manpower and ballot papers.
The IAS officer said in his letter, challenges of inadequate manpower and ballot boxes may arise. He said that if there are a large number of candidates, the ballot papers will have to be enlarged. "As a result, more ballot boxes may be required," the collector wrote. Concerns have been raised that not only more manpower but also additional vehicles would be required to transport the ballot boxes from polling stations to the strong rooms, as well as the space required to keep them safe.
In october last year, election officials data-faced a challenge from a large number of candidates after 155 people had filed their candidature, at the behest of the protesting maratha community, for a gram panchayat by-election in Chate Pimpalgaon village in Parbhani district. . As a result, the by-election was suspended by the State election commission and a letter on the decision was sent to the Parbhani Collector.