Bombay HC Dismisses Election Petitions Against Fadnavis, Mungantiwar & Other BJP Leaders
Devendra Fadnavis
, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, and three other MLAs.
The court ruled the pleas were not maintainable due to procedural lapses, including the petitioners' failure to be physically present during filing — a mandatory legal requirement.
Justice Pravin Patil quashed five petitions filed by Congress candidates Prafulla Gudadhe, Girish Pandav, Satish Warjurkar, Subhash Dhote, and Santosh Singh Rawat. The pleas targeted the results from Nagpur South-West, Nagpur South, Chimur, Rajura, and Ballarpur constituencies in Vidarbha, respectively, alleging violations under Representation of the People Act and procedural irregularities in the 2024 assembly polls.
"The petitions lacked essential particulars and did not comply with statutory requirements," Justice Patil observed, dismissing them summarily. In Gudadhe's plea, which specifically sought to annul CM Fadnavis's victory from South-West Nagpur, the court held that no evidence of corrupt practices or irregularities was demonstrated. Fadnavis won the seat by a margin of 39,710 votes.
Petitioners' counsel Pavan Dahat and Akash Moon told TOI they would challenge the rulings in Supreme Court.
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"We are reviewing the judgment and will file appeals soon," he said. The legal move was part of a wider offensive by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), in which 27 losing candidates across Vidarbha filed similar petitions. Friday's verdict marks a legal and political setback for Congress, which accused the ruling party of misusing official machinery to swing elections.
With this dismissal, Fadnavis, Mungantiwar, Chimur MLA Bunty Bhangadiya, South Nagpur MLA Mohan Mate, and Rajura MLA Deorao Bhongale all received legal reprieve as the court reaffirmed their victories.
The petitioners had urged the court to declare victories of BJP legislators "null and void," citing non-compliance with mandatory electoral protocols by Election Commission of India. They argued ECI failed to issue a formal notification for using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and withheld key election records like Form 17 and CCTV footage of strongrooms. They also alleged absence of VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) verification, raising serious questions about transparency and fairness of the electoral process.
Victories secured by BJP candidates in 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls: (Vidarbha region):
1. Nagpur South-West
Winner: Devendra Fadnavis (BJP)
Defeated: Prafulla Gudadhe (Congress)
Votes secured by Fadnavis: 1,20,214
Victory margin: 39,710
2. Nagpur South
Winner: Mohan Mate (BJP)
Defeated: Girish Pandav (Congress)
Votes secured by Mate: 95,082
Victory margin: 22,563
3. Chimur (Chandrapur)
Winner: Bunty Bhangadiya (Independent supported by BJP)
Defeated: Satish Warjurkar (Congress)
Votes secured by Bhangadiya: 78,145
Victory margin: 16,087
4. Ballarpur (Chandrapur)
Winner: Sudhir Mungantiwar (BJP)
Defeated: Santosh Singh Rawat (Congress)
Votes secured by Mungantiwar: 1,05,211
Victory margin: 25,334
5. Rajura (Chandrapur)
Winner: Deorao Bhongale (BJP)
Defeated: Subhash Dhote (Congress)
Votes secured by Bhongale: 88,576
Victory margin: 13,912
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