Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said that the special court’s decision to deny voting right to two jailed party MLAs Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik in Friday’s Rajya Sabha election has disappointed it. The polling for six Rajya Sabha seats from Maharashtra will take place on June 10.
“Both of them are accused in different cases and have not been proven guilty as of now. Our demand was that both of them should be given the right to vote and no offence has been proven. But the court did not accept our demand and they are deprived of their right to vote,” said NCP State chief Jayant Patil.
Mr. Patil said that he would not comment on the court’s decision, but his party feels disappointed due to the order. With seven candidates in fray for six Rajya Sabha seats, the June 10 polling would mean that each and every vote is of importance. The ruling MVA may lose out of two votes following the court’s decision. The MLAs have however approached the Bombay High Court at the time of writing the report.
