After Uddhav's call to PM Modi, Maha Guv requests ECI for polls in 9 vacancies

This follows his call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following which Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to announce polls to the vacant seats of the state’s Legislative Council.

A statement from Raj Bhavan stated that the Maharashtra Governor has requested the ECI to declare elections.

The development comes after Thackeray called Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday formally requesting for the polls, media reports said.

Elections had been postponed across the country owing to the coronavirus outbreak.

Thackeray has time till May 28 to join the council which has nine vacancies.

The move was welcomed by his predecessor Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis who failed to return back to power in Maharashtra after last year's Assembly election.

"We welcome Hon Governor @BSKoshyari ji's decision to recommend the ECI to conduct the election of the 9 vacant seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council expeditiously. We are sure that the ECI, in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs will take decision to take election ASAP," Fadnavis said in a series of tweets.

"This will prevent Maharashtra from going into instability in the testing times of #CoronaOutbreak &will also uphold the values of our Constitution," he said.

Thackeray took charge as Chief Minister of Maharashtra in November last year but he had not contested the election that took place in October.

Any minister has to become an MLA within six months of getting the position.

However, due to the outbreak of the Covid crisis, elections were postponed until an indefinite period.

After the call made to PM Modi, Governor  Bhagat Singh Koshyari wrote to the Election Commission urging elections to the legislative council "at the earliest".