Buldhana, Nov 25 (NationPress) Maharashtra's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on Tuesday that the ongoing local body elections in the state will occur without any obstacles.

"Elections for 246 nagar parishads and 42 nagar panchayats are currently in progress. The entire process is nearing completion. Voting is set for December 2, followed by counting on December 3. The Supreme Court is expected to approve the government's request to conduct these elections smoothly," he mentioned.

His remarks came in response to the Supreme Court's recent decision to postpone the hearing on November 28, which has cast doubt on the scheduling of upcoming elections and seat allocations.

With ongoing legal disputes regarding the implementation of the 50 percent reservation cap and OBC seat distribution, the Chief Minister reaffirmed the state government's willingness to collaborate.

CM Fadnavis remarked that the Supreme Court had made positive comments regarding OBC reservations during Tuesday's hearing.

"The Supreme Court indicated that a larger bench needs to revisit the previous ruling. I anticipate that the elections will proceed without any issues. However, the final decision rests with the Supreme Court, so it wouldn't be appropriate to speculate further on this matter," he stated.

CM Fadnavis emphasized that the state government has consistently maintained that elections should be conducted with OBC reservations.

"The government led by Uddhav Thackeray made decisions regarding reservations, but in many civic bodies, the reservations were fully utilized. Subsequently, the government sought judicial intervention, leading to the OBC reservation decision. The government argued that there should be comprehensive reservations, which resulted in the current elections taking place. Some individuals later approached the court regarding alleged contempt, prompting the court to examine the matter," he explained.

In the meantime, the Chief Minister dismissed the Opposition's claims regarding the state government's motives as unfounded, stating that the BJP has a strong belief in democracy and the electoral process, and the recent unopposed outcomes reflect public confidence in the BJP's governance and developmental initiatives.

Chief Minister Fadnavis urged all parties involved to honor the electoral process and assured that the state government would undertake necessary actions in accordance with the Supreme Court's final ruling.

Earlier, during hearings held on Tuesday and the previous week, the petitioner indicated that the reservation limit has been exceeded in 159 local entities, including 17 Zilla Parishads, 83 Panchayat Samitis, two Municipal Corporations, and 57 nagar parishads and nagar panchayats.

The reservation caps have been significantly surpassed, particularly in districts with a majority of tribal populations, where the Scheduled Tribe (ST) quota is already considerable.

The exceeding of reservations beyond 50 percent results from the combined quotas for Scheduled Castes (SCs), STs, and the blanket 27 percent reservation allocated for OBCs in certain regions, which is currently being contested in the Supreme Court.