Anil Deshmukh & Nawab Malik's bail pleas reserved ahead of RS polls; verdict on June 9

A Mumbai court on Wednesday reserved bail pleas of former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh and Cabinet Minister Nawab Malik, who are currently under arrest, for voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections. The verdict is scheduled to be pronounced on Thursday, June 9. 

This comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an affidavit opposing the plea by both of them. In the affidavit submitted before the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court, the ED cited Section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which provides that 'no person shall vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police'. The agency in the court had given the word on June 6 to file the affidavit latest by June 7, so that the matter could be heard at the earliest. 

Anil Deshmukh & Nawab Malik file applications

In judicial custody under charges of corruption levelled by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, Ex- Maha HM Anil Deshmukh had filed an application to be released for a single day. Deshmukh in the application had expressed his willingness to go to the Vidhan Sabha, and cast his vote. Nawab Malik too, had later filed the same application, with an addition that since he was in the hospital, he should be permitted to travel to Vidhan Sabha in an ambulance. Both Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik belong to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), which has fielded veteran leader Praful Patel as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha poll. Its ally, Shiv Sena has fielded Sanjay Raut and the party's Kolhapur district chief Sanjay Pawar while Congress is yet to reveal its candidates. The Rajya Sabha election for six seats in Maharashtra are scheduled for June 10.

Parties contest over sixth Rajya Sabha seat in Maharashtra

As seven candidates were going to contest for the six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the BJP has fielded Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde, and ex-Member of Parliament Dhananjay Mahadik, while Shiv Sena has placed two candidates - Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar. NCP has renominated Praful Patel, while Congress has Imran Pratapgarhi. The battle for the sixth seat is between BJP's Mahadik and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Pawar.

In the 288-member assembly, Shiv Sena has 55 MLAs, NCP 53, Congress 44 and BJP 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) three, two each from AIMIM, Samajwadi Party, and Prahar Janshakti Party, one each from CPI(M), PWP, MNS, Swabhimani Party, Jansurajya Party, Rashtriya Samaj Party, and Krantikari Shetkari Party, independents 13 and there is one vacancy due to Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke's recent demise. Also, two NCP MLAs Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik are in prison.