In a significant development ahead of the Mumbai civic polls, eight aspiring candidates from various political parties have approached the Bombay High Court. They allege their nomination papers for the upcoming January 15 election were wrongfully rejected at the behest of a sitting legislator.
Petitioners Allege Political Interference
The petition was filed on Tuesday by Baban Mahadik of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), alongside seven others including Vaishali Gawde from the Congress and Mahendra Shinde of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). They have sought directions from the court to the State Election Commission (SEC), Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, and Returning Officer Krushna Jadhav to accept their nominations, enabling them to contest.
The candidates contend that despite completing all formalities, including payment of the security deposit, their "duly filled forms were not accepted" by the returning officer for A, B, and E wards. They have directly accused Assembly Speaker and BJP MLA Rahul Narwekar of orchestrating this rejection, claiming it was done "at his instance." Narwekar, however, was not named as a party in the petition.
Urgent Hearing Sought Ahead of Poll Date
Advocate Ashish Gaikwad, representing the petitioners, mentioned the plea before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad. He pressed for an urgent hearing, emphasizing that the election date of January 15 is less than 10 days away.
Gaikwad argued that once a candidate pays the security deposit and receives a token, the returning officer is legally obligated to accept the nomination for subsequent scrutiny. He alleged that the local MLA, who is also the Speaker, used his position to ensure the candidates had to leave the election office premises on December 30 without their nominations being accepted, despite waiting until late.
Background and Official Response
The wards in question—Ward Nos. 225, 226, and 227—fall within Narwekar's Colaba assembly constituency in South Mumbai. Interestingly, Narwekar's brother Makrand Narwekar and two other relatives are contesting from these very wards.
Following the incident, a complaint was made to the SEC through MP Haribhau Rathod. The SEC then directed the civic chief and the returning officer to submit a report by December 31. The petitioners have informed the court that the Municipal Commissioner has submitted a detailed report on the complaint and have requested it be placed before the bench.
In response to similar allegations raised earlier by an opposition member, Speaker Rahul Narwekar had dismissed them as "politically motivated and baseless." The Chief Justice, after hearing the plea for urgency, stated that the petition would be heard in due course and a date would be assigned in three to four days.
This legal move throws a spotlight on the nomination process for the crucial Mumbai civic elections and raises serious questions about procedural fairness and potential political influence at the ground level.
