Political careers of 70 candidates end abruptly

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

As many as 70 nomination papers were rejected in a single day during the prabhag-wise scrutiny of nomination papers under categories A, B, C and D at the offices of the city’s nine election returning officers (EROs) on Wednesday, ahead of the municipal corporation elections.

The rejections came as a shock to political parties, as nomination papers of even officially sponsored candidates who had submitted ‘B’ forms were declared invalid. Several candidates considered politically strong by their parties saw their nominations rejected over minor lapses, effectively ending their electoral prospects for the year.

Tuesday was the last day for filing nominations. Political parties had instructed all aspirants to submit their papers, resulting in long queues at all nine ERO offices across the city till 5.30 pm. A total of 1,870 nomination papers were filed during the day.

Candidates and their supporters waited anxiously for their respective prabhag categories to be taken up during the scrutiny process. Scrutiny was conducted category-wise before the EROs, during which the nomination papers of several prominent candidates were rejected.

The situation led to heated arguments between candidates, their representatives and election officials. In several cases, candidates raised objections against their rivals, which were heard on the spot. Disputes continued till 5 pm at some locations and up to 8 pm at others. After considering the arguments and objections, officials delivered their final decisions.

Reasons for rejection of nomination papers

Filing nomination papers requires careful compliance with procedural rules, which several candidates failed to observe. In some cases, candidates were unaware of the regulations.

Common lapses included submission of affidavits on plain paper, unsigned notarised affidavits, names of proposers or seconders not appearing in the final electoral roll, candidates not meeting the prescribed age criteria, failure to attach caste validity certificates, and submission of only receipts instead of required documents. Due to such errors and omissions, several nomination papers were declared invalid.

Withdrawal of nominations tomorrow

Candidates from recognised political parties are not expected to withdraw their nominations, while efforts to persuade independent candidates to step aside will begin from Thursday. The window for withdrawal of nomination papers will be open on January 2 from 11 am to 3 pm. Once this process concludes, the final picture of electoral contests in all wards will emerge. The allotment of election symbols to independent candidates will be carried out on January 3, election officials said.

Box 1

ERO Number/ Prabhag Number/ Total Forms / Number of forms valid/Invalid

1. 3/4/5 –189– 183/06

2. 15/16/17– 208– 203/05

3. 6/12/13/14– 174– 166/08

4. 1/2/7 –182– 176/06

5. 8/9/10/11– 233– 220/13

6. 23/24/25– 204– 194/10

7. 21/22/27– 236– 221/15

8. 26/28/29– 250– 248/02

9. 18/19/20– 194– 189/05

Total 1870/– 1800/70

Box 2

Major setback on the last day of the year

Affidavits were not notarised

Names of proposers and seconders were not included in the electoral roll

Affidavits were not signed

Age eligibility requirements were not fulfilled

Caste certificate validity was not submitted