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Elections to local governing bodies can be held now with OBC quota in Maharashtra, with the Supreme Court giving its nod on Wednesday, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in Mumbai.
The state government, however, has requested the State Election Commission (SEC) not to schedule elections immediately as many parts of Maharashtra have been affected by heavy rains, the BJP leader told reporters.
Earlier, the apex court had set aside the quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local elections in Maharashtra for lack of empirical data about their populations.
"The Supreme Court today accepted the state backward class commission's report for OBC reservation. It has given permission to allot OBC reservations as per the commission's report," Fadnavis claimed.
But the government has requested the SEC not to announce fresh dates for elections immediately as many areas are severely affected by heavy rains, he added.
Fadnavis, who became deputy CM after the Bharatiya Janata Party supported rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde for the chief minister's post last month, accused the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of wasting time "pointing fingers at the Union government" over the issue.
"When I said that the backward class commission's report can be finalised (and submitted to the court), I was ridiculed. But our government has given answer to the critics through our action," Fadnavis said.
Earlier, the SEC had scheduled elections to 92 municipal councils and four nagar panchayats on August 18, but they were postponed in view of the hearing in the SC on Wednesday.
When contacted, an official of the State Election Commission said they were waiting for the court's written order.
Fadnavis, meanwhile, also said that some people in the MVA government, such as NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, facilitated the commission's work.
The Supreme Court has not solved the problem completely for three of four districts and "we will have to take additional decisions to ensure proper OBC reservation based on population in these districts," he said.
Shiv Sena president and former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said he was happy with the apex court's decision.
"Everybody came together and made efforts for restoring the reservation," he added.
Leader of Opposition in the assembly and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar claimed that OBC reservation was restored chiefly because the backward class commission was formed by the then MVA government (consisting of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena).
"It is the victory of honest efforts of the MVA to safeguard OBC quota. We succeeded in securing this victory with the support of then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and other cabinet colleagues," Pawar said.
Responding to Pawar's comment, Fadnavis noted that the elections to some local bodies were held without OBC quota, and asked whether "the opposition is ready to take credit for their missteps."
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Maharashtra SEC and state authorities to ensure the process for local bodies' election is commenced within two weeks.