The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Saturday said it has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena for violating the Representation of the People Act and poll code by publishing the names of individuals from other parties as their star campaigners, reported the PTI.

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

“We have filed a complaint to the Election Commission of India regarding the gross violations by Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and the Bharatiya Janata Party of the Representation of People Act and the Model Code of Conduct,” the Sharad Pawar-led party posted on its official handle X (formerly Twitter), as per the PTI.

Voting for Lok Sabha elections is scheduled to start on April 19. Maharashtra will vote in five phases.

“Both Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and BJP have published the names of various individuals from other political parties as part of their Star Campaigner List, which is violative of Section 77 of the Representation of People`s Act,” the NCP (SP) stated and also tagged its ECI complaint letter and the list of star campaigners of both parties, according to the PTI.

The NCP (SP) claimed Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has published the names of various people holding high public office such as the prime minister, Union ministers, chief minister and deputy CM.

“This is not only a violation of the Representation of People Act, but also of the Model Code of Conduct as the representatives of the party in power in Centre or State are categorically barred from using their official positions for the purpose of election Campaign,” it said, the news agency reported on Saturday.

The party demanded strict action by the ECI in the interest of protecting the sanctity of free and fair elections.

The Sharad Pawar-led NCP is the part of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) that comprises of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. It will contest 10 seats in Maharashtra. It declared its first list five candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Maharashtra on Saturday.

(with PTI inputs)

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