NT NETWORK

Ponda

Considering the Election Commission’s notice to include the cost of son’s wedding in the election expenditure, Mahadev Naik, the Congress candidate for Shiroda by-election has changed the timing of  the wedding and has also cancelled the lunch party for the invitees.

Naik’s son’s wedding is scheduled to be held on April 20, three days before the polling day.

Considering chances of Naik using the wedding ceremony for election gains, the EC had asked him to postpone it.

“I strongly objected to the changing of the date of my son’s wedding. My son’s wedding date was fixed long back and election was declared later on. My son’s civil marriage took place in July 2018, and after that we had planned the wedding in April,” Naik said.

“As per the law, election in Shiroda should have happened by April 16 and by April 17 MLA should have taken oath, but the Election Commission delayed it,” he added.

Naik informed that they have changed the timing of the wedding and  cancelled the lunch party for the invitees following the notice of EC to include expenditure of wedding in the election expenditure.

“Earlier, wedding was planned at 12.38 pm, but now we have postponed it to 3.02 pm. We have planned it in such a way so that my campaigning expenditure won’t extend over Rs 20 lakh, which is limit for a candidate,” he said.

Naik alleged that “opponents are playing dirty politics and trying to suppress him. They are scared of my presence,  and they are trying to pull me down by every means.”

The Election Commission had asked Naik to either postpone the wedding  after the election or to hold it within his close family members. One of the reasons put forward was the possibility of Mahadev using the event for election gains.