Congress appoints Umang Singhar as observer for Maharashtra polls

Bhopal, Oct 15 (IANS) The Congress on Tuesday appointed Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Umang Singhar as an observer for the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

Former Minister and Tribal leader - Singhar, who is currently a Congress MLA from the Gandhwani Assembly constituency in Dhar district, has been appointed as observer for Amravati and Nagpur districts which fall under the Vidarbha division of Maharashtra.

He will be working with two former Chief Ministers - Bhupesh Baghel (Chhattisgarh) and Charanjit Singh Channi (Punjab). Both Amravati and Nagpur districts in the Vidarbha division of Maharashtra share boundaries with the Betul and Chhindwara districts of Madhya Pradesh.

"I will make my best effort to ensure that Congress wins most of the Assembly seats in Amravati and Nagpur regions and Congress emerges as a new force in the Maharashtra elections," Singhar said.

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) released the list of election observers just a few hours before the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the poll schedule for Maharashtra and Jharkhand.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar announced on Tuesday that the election for the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly will be held in a single phase on November 20.

Results for the same will be announced on November 23.

Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot, G. Parmeshwara, Sachin Pilot, Uttam Kumar Reddy, T. S. Singhdeo, M. B. Patil, Syed Naseer Hussain and Anasuya Seethakka have also been appointed as observers for the Maharashtra polls.

The tenure of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is scheduled to end on November 26.

In Maharashtra, the contest is chiefly between the ruling Mahayuti coalition -- the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party -- and the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Congress, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).

--IANS

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