Raise upper limit of election expenditure: Shiv Sena and NCP urge EC

Leaders of Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) met Chief Election Commission Sunil Arora here on Wednesday to request a raise in expenditure limit for candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Shiv Sena was represented by Anil Desai and NCP was represented by its Mumbai unit President Nawab Malik.

Shiv Sena demanded expenditure limit to be raised to Rs 60 lakh from Rs 28 lakh.

"We have asked Election commission to increase expenditure limit for assembly elections and rationalise submission of criminal antecedents by candidates. The upper limit is set at Rs 28 lakhs. We have demanded that it should be raised to Rs 60 lakh," Desai told reporters.

Malik said that there are fears amongst people of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) getting hacked.

"Election Commission's stand on EVM is clear. There is no point in raising the issue where decisions cannot be taken. People have fears about hacking in their mind, we will think about it," he said.

EC is holding a series of meetings with representatives of political parties in the run-up to the Assembly elections in the state.

Police and other agencies are reviewing the preparedness for upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.