Mumbai North-West seat: Sena UBT leader Kirtikar moves Bombay HC, seeks to declare Waikar’s victory ‘void’

Kirtikar’s plea claimed, “Petitioner is aggrieved due to improper reception of void votes cast by 333 impersonators in place of genuine electors, along with breach of rules / orders, pertaining to the counting process, by EC officials, which has materially affected the outcome of the election results leading to the petitioner’s defeat by a narrow margin of forty-eight (48) votes, despite getting a total of 4,52,596 votes (4,51,095 EVM votes + 1,501 postal ballot votes).”

“The high-handed hastiness and palpable arbitrariness on the part of the Returning Officer can also be seen from the act that she completely ignored provisions of the 2023 Handbook, which provides for a candidate’s right to file for a second recount, particularly when the margin between the first two candidates are narrow. In the present case there could not have been a narrower margin than 1 vote,” Kirtikar claimed through advocate Amit A Karande.

Kirtikar submitted that his counting agents were not permitted to sit at the RO’s table, despite the same being a statutory requirement.

He added that Forms 17-C (Part II) (record of votes polled) were not given in any of the 563 polling booths of two assembly segments, including Jogeshwari and Versova, and 276 polling booths of another assembly Segment Goregaon.

“ No reasonable opportunity given to make an application requesting recount of votes and turning down the written request subsequently made,” the plea claimed.

Kirtikar sought direction to the court to declare Waikar’s election as void and declare the petitioner as duly elected to the 18th Lok Sabha.

The HC will hear the plea in due course.

Last month, Goregaon resident Bharat Khimji Shah, who also contested the LS election for North-West Mumbai seat, had filed a plea in HC challenging Waikar’s election.

Another Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vinayak Raut, a former MP from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency, had also filed a petition in the HC last week seeking cancellation of the election victory of BJP’s Narayan Rane from the constituency.