Satej Patil unhappy with ZP poll schedule, says not enough time to campaign

Kolhapur: Congress MLC Satej Patil showed displeasure over the schedule of the zilla parishad elections announced by the State Election Commission, stating that only nine days were left for candidates to campaign in the ZP constituencies, each nearly half the size of an assembly constituency.The poll body announced that voting to 12 ZPs and 125 panchayat samitis would take place on Feb 5, and the counting on Feb 7. Most of the ZPs going to poll are in the Pune division, a total of 5 — Pune, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Kolhapur.As per the schedule, the process to file nomination papers is going to start on Jan 16 onwards, and the last day for accepting the nomination will be Jan 21. On Jan 22, the scrutiny will take place, and thereafter the final list of the candidates with the symbols will be published on Jan 27."Even if one considers all the days from filing of the nomination papers, the candidates get nine days to campaign. The geographical size of ZP constituencies is much bigger than the wards for the municipal corporation election. To cover such a constituency is difficult. Therefore, the poll panel should find a solution and ensure the candidates get enough time to reach out to the voters," said Patil.Patil said that the opposition would contest all ZP elections as MVA.