Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Just 11 days after the municipal corporation election results, allegations have emerged against several newly elected councillors. These include having three children, submitting false affidavits, encroachment on municipal corporation land, and false caste certificates. Opposition parties are reportedly preparing to move against the corporators to challenge their membership. Some complaints are being filed with the municipal commissioner, while others may be taken to the bench, raising the possibility of by-elections in three to four prabhags in the coming days.
No political party carried out proper verification when nominating candidates. Now that they have been elected, scrutiny has revealed issues in some Muslim-majority prabhags, where certain corporators are reported to have three children. Opposition parties have begun gathering birth certificates of children to substantiate complaints, which can be submitted to the municipal commissioner and its report forwarded to the divisional commissioner.
In another case, the son of a female corporator is reported to have encroached on municipal corporation land, which could lead to the corporator’s disqualification. One candidate has allegedly submitted a false affidavit, while opposition parties claim that a woman elected from the OBC category submitted a false caste certificate. These disputes may also reach the court. It appears almost certain that some newly elected corporators may lose their seats, necessitating by-elections. Similar by-elections occurred in several wards in 2015.
Close to majority, but Gulmandi lost
The BJP won 57 seats, putting it close to a majority. However, the party suffered a setback losing the Gulmandi prabhag, considered the city’s heart. BJP is reportedly preparing for a possible by-election in this prabhag, which could help secure a majority.
Certificates collected by others
The election returning officer (ERO) hands over the certificate to the elected candidate. In some prabhags, the certificate was reportedly collected by a candidate’s son, son-in-law, husband or father-in-law. Rumours in the municipal corporation circle underlines that one corporator has remained bedridden, making the collection of the certificate an unusual situation.
Scrutiny of complaints
CSMC deputy commissioner (election) Vikas Navale confirmed that the election branch has received two complaints. These will be verified and reported to senior officials, who will make a decision based on the findings, he said.