BETWEEN 2019 and now, the variety of nomination varieties acquired for the Maharashtra Meeting elections has doubled – from 5,543 to 10,905, as per the state Chief Electoral Officer. Maybe no shock then that the final day to file nominations within the state on Tuesday was marked by excessive drama, together with a chopper flying in to make type supply, a lacking chief, a mad scramble, and at the very least one potential candidate who was inexplicably delayed.
Nashik district’s statistics deserved a particular point out: of the 361 candidates who’ve filed nominations from right here, as many as 255 did so on Tuesday.
The chief who bought late and therefore missed submitting his nomination “by minutes” was former Maharashtra minister Anees Ahmed. A Gandhi household loyalist, he had rebelled after the Congress picked Bunty Shelke for the Nagpur Central seat, which Ahmed has received thrice up to now. Ahmed was promptly provided a ticket from the seat by the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA).
Nevertheless, because the minutes ticked away Tuesday, Ahmed failed to achieve by the three pm deadline to file his nomination as a VBA candidate. He claimed he bought delayed doing the paperwork, after which confronted obstacles resembling highway closure, vehicular restrictions and even safety protocols on the workplace of the Returning Officer (RO). He informed PTI that whereas his associates have been sitting inside together with his token quantity, he was not allowed into the RO’s workplace.
With the RO not budging, Ahmed plonked himself on the workplace until 8 pm, saying he was “exploring choices” to file his nomination.
Not many have been satisfied that the seasoned chief can be so negligent as to overlook a nomination deadline. A number of have been extra inclined to consider the Congress had managed to placate its long-serving chief in a seat the place Muslim vote is essential.
One other sulking chief, nevertheless, had his approach in Mumbai’s Mankhurd-Shivajinagar seat. NCP MLA and former minister Nawab Malik, who the BJP insisted couldn’t be on the Mahayuti ticket, initially filed his nomination as an Unbiased. Cautious of the BJP’s warnings, the NCP didn’t give him the wanted A&B type, however then, 5 minutes to go for the deadline, the papers arrived. So Malik, who earlier bought a ticket for his daughter Sana from his conventional seat Anushaktinagar, is now an official NCP candidate.
In Anushaktinagar, in the meantime, the opposite NCP – the Sharad Pawar faction – had just a few tense moments after the RO pointed to a discrepancy within the papers of its candidate Fahad Ahmad.
A youth chief of the Samajwadi Get together, who shot to fame after marriage to actor Swara Bhasker, Ahmad was not anticipated by anybody to be within the fray. However the beginner managed to right the paperwork and affidavits and file his nomination by 1.40 pm – nicely in time.
It was in Nashik, the district the place every little thing gave the impression to be taking place on the final day, {that a} chopper was put into nomination service. Miffed over NCP (Ajit Pawar) chief Sameer Bhujbal submitting his nomination as an Unbiased in opposition to Shiv Sena candidate Suhas Kande within the district’s Nadgaon seat, the Shinde Sena flew in A&B varieties through helicopter to its leaders Dhanaraj Mahale and Rajashri Ahirrao.
So now, in a tit-for-tat, the 2 are in contest in opposition to NCP candidates – Mahale in Dindori in opposition to Narhari Zirwal, and Ahirrao in Deolali in opposition to Saroj Ahire. Each Zirwal and Ahire occur to be sitting MLAs.
Within the Thane seat, in distinction, the Shinde Sena bought former mayor Minakshi Shinde to drop out on the final second and never file nomination in opposition to the BJP’s Sanjay Kelkar.
The chief who made essentially the most information although was Shinde Sena chief Shrinivas Vanga, the one sitting MLA of the social gathering to be denied a ticket. After it turned identified that the Sena had changed him within the Palghar ST-reserved seat, Vanga – the son of late BJP MP Chintaman Vanga – hit out, telling reporters he had dedicated a “grave mistake” by siding with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde within the insurrection within the social gathering, and described Uddhav Thackeray whom he had abandoned as a “dev manoos (god-like man)”.
On Tuesday, his household claimed he was lacking and “untraceable” for the reason that night earlier than. In addition they expressed concern over his mind-set, although they didn’t file a police criticism.
Early Wednesday morning, Vanga returned dwelling, apparently on his personal. He went away as he “wanted to relaxation”, he mentioned.
