Safiya Malik

The Bombay High Court has admitted petitions filed by five candidates from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) challenging the electoral victories of candidates from the Mahayuti alliance in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The petitioners, who include candidates from Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), have sought the annulment of election results in their respective constituencies on grounds of alleged electoral misconduct.

The petitions have been filed by Manohar Krishna Madhavi, Prashant Sudam Jagtap, Mahesh Kothe, Naresh Ratan Manera, and Sunil Chandrakant Bhusara, each alleging specific instances of misconduct that, according to them, violated electoral rules under the Representation of People Act, 1951, and undermined the integrity of the election process.

Manohar Krishna Madhavi, a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate who contested from the Airoli constituency, has alleged that his rival candidate, Ganesh Chandra Naik of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), engaged in malpractice with the connivance of the Election Commission. Madhavi’s petition claims that duplicate voting entries were allowed, enabling individuals to vote multiple times during the elections. Madhavi contends that these alleged actions significantly impacted the election outcome and violated election transparency standards.

Prashant Sudam Jagtap, who contested from the Hadapsar constituency in Pune as a candidate of the Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar (NCP SP) faction, has challenged the election of Chetan Vitthal Tupe, a candidate from the rival NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar. Jagtap’s petition alleges that Tupe deliberately concealed criminal cases pending against him and failed to disclose his income details, constituting a violation of Section 125A of the Representation of People Act, 1951. Jagtap asserts that this omission misled voters and undermined the fairness of the electoral process.

Mahesh Kothe, another NCP (SP) candidate, has challenged the election of BJP candidate Vijaykumar Deshmukh from the Solapur North constituency. Kothe’s petition alleges that Deshmukh failed to disclose immovable properties and other assets in his nomination, violating election rules. The petition further claims that the returning officer improperly accepted Deshmukh’s nomination papers despite these alleged discrepancies, which Kothe argues should render the election invalid.

Naresh Ratan Manera, a Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate from the Ovala-Majiwada constituency, has filed a petition disputing the election victory of Pratap Baburao Sarnaik, a Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar) MLA and the current transport minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Manera’s petition alleges irregularities in the EVM-VVPAT system at one of the polling booths, claiming that these discrepancies influenced the election outcome in Sarnaik’s favor.

Sunil Chandrakant Bhusara, an NCP (SP) candidate from the Vikramgad constituency, has contested the election victory of BJP’s Harishchandra Sakharam Bhoye. Bhusara’s petition alleges corrupt practices, including bribery, by Bhoye to secure his electoral win, which the petition claims is a violation of the Representation of People Act, 1951. Bhusara has also alleged that the election authorities refused to provide Form 17-C and denied access to CCTV footage, thereby undermining the transparency of the electoral process.

The petitions, filed through advocates Asim Sarode and Ajinkya Gaikwad, seek the annulment of the election results in the respective constituencies and request that the Bombay High Court declare the petitioners as the duly elected candidates. The petitioners argue that the alleged violations and misconduct materially affected the election outcomes, warranting judicial intervention.

The respondents, including the victorious Mahayuti candidates, are expected to file their responses to the allegations.