Mumbai: Days after the Aam Admi Party (AAP) and Janata Dal complained to the State Election Commission (SEC) that their candidates were not allowed to file nominations for the BMC polls in Colaba by returning officer (RO) Krishna Jadhav, municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani submitted a report pointing out that although Jadhav’s actions were legally sound, he should have been more careful and more prudent on the administrative front. The SEC still has to respond to the report.The two parties complained that the RO acted at the behest of assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar, who is from the BJP. Three of his relatives are contesting the BMC election, and he was present at the RO’s office when nominations were being filed. The complaints relate to Ward Nos. 225, 226 and 227. Gagrani’s report only pertains to the RO’s actions.
The two parties alleged that the nomination forms of their candidates were not accepted even though they received tokens and were present in the RO’s office before the 5 pm deadline on Dec 30, the last day to file nominations.Jadhav’s contention was that the rules require the candidates to be inside his cabin, not just on the office premises, by the 5 pm deadline. He stated that he made several announcements about this while the process of filing nominations was underway.In his report, Gagrani pointed out that the candidates were given tokens and were present on the office premises, even though they were not in the cabin of the RO. Hence, Jadhav should have been “administratively careful”, his report said. This suggests that Gagrani did not agree with Jadhav’s actions, even though they were legally sound.Although the provision of tokens is not mentioned in the election rules, it has become an established administrative practice to provide tokens to voters queuing up at polling booths on voting day close to the deadline. Those given the tokens are allowed to vote.The Janata Dal later withdrew its complaint to the SEC. However, various Opposition parties accused Narwekar of violating the model code of conduct and interfering with the nomination process. Narwekar, a BJP MLA from Colaba, dismissed the charges as baseless and politically motivated.
