In a major breakthrough, the Bombay High Court’s Nagpur bench has served notice to BJP leader and ex-Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on a petition challenging the validity of his win in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls. The petition by Congress candidate Prafulla Gudadhe questioned Fadnavis’ election from the Nagpur South-West constituency on grounds of serious procedural defects in the poll process.
Gudadhe, who trailed Fadnavis by almost 40,000 votes, has been accused of vote-counting irregularities and infringement of a number of compulsory provisions of the representation of the People Act. He has requested the court to hold the election as void, asserting the purity of the process was vitiated.
Additional Opposition Leaders Submit Similar Requests
This is not a solitary case. Several leaders of the opposition, including mainstream Congress and NCP candidates, have made identical petitions in various constituencies. Most of them complain of unforeseen surges in voting percentages towards the later part of the voting hours and mismatches between votes cast and counted. These raised questions about higher issues of transparency and fairness in the recently concluded state elections.
High Court Waits For Fadnavis’s Reply
Although the court has not yet accepted the petition for a hearing, it has invited Fadnavis and the Election Commission to reply to the accusations. The verdict in this case will hinge on the proof that has been provided and how the court views the legal merit of the claims.
In case the court rules in favor of the allegations, it may pave the way for a closer examination of the election process in the constituency—and possibly others. Lawyers argue that such challenges, if successful, may establish significant precedents regarding the handling of electoral disputes in the future.
What Lies Ahead
The next hearing will decide if the case goes ahead. For the moment, the onus is on the respondents. If the High Court does choose to pursue the case, it might become a landmark court struggle involving one of Maharashtra’s highest profile political leaders.
The furor arrives amid a growing debate nationally on questions of electoral integrity, and the outcome of this case could have an impact on public confidence in the democratic process.
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