AIMIM's Maharashtra registration restored

Mumbai, Aug 9: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) survived a minor hiccup when Maharashtra State Election Commission on Tuesday restored its registration after nearly a month. Maharashtra Election Commissioner J.S. Saharia said that the registrations of the Hyderabad-based AIMIM and some other parties have been restored after they complied with the documentary requirements and paid up fines of Rs 100,000 each. Vide a notification on April 20, the SEC had announced on July 13 cancellation of registration of AIMIM and another 190 political parties on different dates for failure to submit their income details, filing their Income Tax Reports and audit reports as required under the law. With registration restored, the AIMIM will now be able to contest the upcoming civic elections in the state on its own common symbol, said a spokesperson for party which currently has two legislators in the state, besides representation in several civic bodies. Besides AIMIM, the SEC has restored the registrations of Republican Party of India-A, Swabhimani Paksha, Lok Bharati, Jan Surajya Shakti party and Amalner Taluka Vikas Aghadi party, Saharia said. The SEC had cancelled the registration to "ensure a level playing field for all parties, free and fair elections and prevent misuse of money-power during the polls". Currently, Maharashtra has 17 recognised parties and a whopping 342 others which are unrecognized. From among the unrecognized parties, the SEC slapped 326 with notices to comply with the statutory requirements, but many failed to respond, including the high-profile AIMIM. Among the non-state parties, the SEC axe had fallen on AIMIM and Loksatta Party, both from Hyderabad, Socialist Party (India) and Peace Party (Uttar Pradesh), Republican Party of India-Khobragade and Gondwana Republican Party (Chhattisgarh).