Submit expenditure details in 90 days: Poll officials to MNS

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has been asked to submit details within 90 days of expenses incurred on the election rallies of its president Raj Thackeray.

An election official said the notice for submission of election expenditure was issued after consultations with the Election Commission following a complaint from the BJP demanding that expenditure incurred on MNS rallies be shown in the accounts of opposition candidates in the nine Lok Sabha constituencies where Raj Thackeray addressed rallies.

"We sought guidance regarding the complaint and were told that the MNS is a registered political party and should give details of the expenses incurred on its election rallies. The notices to this effect are being sent to Raj Thackeray through district collectors of the areas where he addressed rallies," the official said.

The official said this was a routine procedure and all national, state and registered parties have to submit their statement of accounts.

Though the MNS is not contesting Lok Sabha elections, Thackeray held nine rallies in Maharashtra last month, in which he attacked the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state and asked people not to vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.

The BJP had written to the state's Chief Electoral Officer(CEO) demanding that the expenses of Raj Thackeray's campaign rallies be added to the accounts of the Congress-NCP candidates who were in fray against the BJP-Sena nominees.

The election official said this could have been done if Thackeray had sought votes for the Congress-NCP candidates in his speeches.