Maharashtra civic polls: SEC to check if pressure, allurement, coercion used for unopposed election

Mumbai: Amid Opposition parties' allegations of irregularities in filing of nominations for the upcoming civic polls, the Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has sought reports from the municipal corporations where candidates from the ruling parties have been elected unopposed.

The poll body will check if any pressure was applied, allurement was given or any coercive means used against opponents to withdraw their nominations for unopposed election, officials said.

Elections to 29 municipal corporations in the state will be held on January 15, and the counting of votes will take place the next day. December 30 was the last day for filing nominations.

Five BJP and four Shiv Sena candidates in Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) in Thane district have been elected unopposed as there are no candidates in the fray against them. In Pimpri Chinchwad (in Pune district), Jalgaon, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar civic bodies, at least one BJP candidate has been elected unopposed.

"The SEC has decided to seek reports from the civic authorities to check if there was use of coercive means, pressure or allurement to the opponent candidates to withdraw their nominations. The SEC will not allow the returning officers of these wards to announce the election of the ruling party candidates until the reports are submitted," an official said.

"The SEC has been getting complaints of coercive means by ruling parties and the election machinery preventing candidates from filing nominations. Candidates from Congress, Janata Dal (S) and AAP have alleged that they were unlawfully prevented from filing nominations under pressure in three wards in Colaba in Mumbai," he said.

The SEC will seek reports from nine wards from the authorities from these bodies where candidates have been elected unopposed, according to the official.

"We will get a report about the candidates being elected unopposed after the last date of withdrawal, which is January 3. After that, reports will be sought from returning officers, municipal commissioner (in-charge of the polls) and police commissioners of the respective municipal corporations to check if there was any pressure or allurement given to opponents to withdraw nomination or any coercive means used for unopposed elections," the official said.

Sources said that until the reports are received from these three authorities, the returning officer (RO) would not be allowed to announce the respective candidates elected unopposed.

Another official said that these instances of the unopposed election in municipal corporations, especially when the fights are multi-corner and stakes are high are surprising. Though we have received just a handful of the complaints, the number is expected to be high at local level," he said.

"In case the report substantiates violation of rules or prevention of filing of nomination, the SEC can take action only against the RO and there is no provision of allowing the candidates to file nominations as the last day has been lapsed," the official said.

The SEC has sought a report from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner on the alleged pressure by Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on the returning officer for preventing other candidates from filing nominations. The BMC commissioner has also been asked to screen the CCTV footage and check the details on the records with the returning officer of Ward A.

The SEC has also received a complaint against the returning officer for not allowing them to fill the nomination and presence of Narwekar inside the hall where the nominations were being filed.

"We have sought a report from BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, who is also the district election commissioner, on the allegations for preventing candidates from filing nominations. We have, in a letter sent to Gagrani have asked to submit the report on the allegations and also by checking the CCTV footage inside the office of the returning officer. We are expecting the report to be submitted soon," an SEC official said.

Narwekar, however, called the allegations "baseless" and said every candidate who was present in the RO office before 5 pm on December 30 was given an opportunity to file the nominations.