Voting for the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled to begin on April 19. (document)

Mumbai:

Sharad Pawar’s camp on Saturday said it has filed a complaint with the Election Commission alleging that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena violated the Representation of the People Act and the polls by publishing names of individuals from other parties as star campaigners code.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) opposition party in Maharashtra, which also includes the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress.

Sharad Pawar-led party posted on social media: “We have lodged a complaint against Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and the BJP for serious violations of the Representation of the People Act and Model Code of Conduct. File a complaint with the Election Commission of India.” Its official account is X (formerly Twitter).

Voting for the Lok Sabha elections is scheduled to begin on April 19. Maharashtra will go to polls in five phases.

“Both the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and the BJP have published names of multiple individuals from other political parties in their star campaigner lists, in violation of Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act,” the NCP (SP) stated and tagged its ECI complaint letter and the list of star campaigners from both parties.

The NCP(SP) alleged that the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, released the names of senior public officials such as the Prime Minister, Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers .

“This is not only a violation of the Representation of the People Act but also a violation of the Model Code of Conduct as representatives of the ruling party at the Center or state are expressly prohibited from using their official positions for campaigning,” it said.

The party demanded strict action from the ECI to protect the sanctity of free and fair elections.

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