PUNE, 4 DEC. The leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Prakash Ambedkar, has strongly objected to the decision by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court to declare the results of the state's local self-government elections on December 21. Ambedkar categorically questioned the constitutional validity of the ruling, asserting that, according to the Constitution, the judiciary has no right to interfere in the election process once it has commenced.

He specifically pointed out that the Supreme Court had refused to intervene on similar grounds just last week, which makes the High Court’s decision to postpone the result date perplexing. Ambedkar further stated that legal matters concerning the allotment of election symbols fall under the jurisdiction of only the District-level courts, not the High Court.

The VBA leader expressed significant concern over a potential constitutional dilemma arising from the High Court’s decision to push back the Election Commission’s announced schedule. He questioned how the publication of the gazette from the original process would be reconciled and integrated with the procedures of the new election process. Based on this constitutional ambiguity, the VBA has formally appealed for the Chief Justice to take notice of the matter and order the immediate resumption of the stopped counting of votes.

Ambedkar also asserted that the Election Commission alone holds the authority to announce the election schedule, thereby rendering the court-mandated December 21 date inconsequential. He urged the Election Commission to approach the court itself and seek a directive to restart the cancelled counting. In his remarks, he also took a subtle jab at Devendra Fadnavis, suggesting an inquiry into the manufacturing location of EVM chips.

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