EC asks Raj Thackeray for details of MNS rallies; party conducted dozen public meetings for LS polls without fielding any candidates

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has asked for details of expenses of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s rallies, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Dilip Shinde said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_4607791” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of MNS chief Raj Thackeray. PTI[/caption] As per reports, Thackeray conducted nearly a dozen public rallies for the Lok Sabha elections although his party did not field a single candidate for the polls. Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah, Thackeray appealed voters not to cast their votes in favour of the party and its alliance partners in order to ensure Modi’s defeat in the general elections. A week after Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sunil Arora announced the schedule of Lok Sabha elections, Thackeray announced that MNS will not contest the ongoing elections. Seven-phase elections, which began on 11 April, will culminate on 19 May, and results will be declared on 23 May. In the 2014 general elections, MNS was unable to win any seat.