In a relief to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging his victory in the 2024 assembly elections from the Nagpur South West seat.
As reported by PTI, the bench of Justice Pravin Patil dismissed the petition filed by Congress` Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe against Fadnavis. The petition filed by the Congress leader alleged that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, was involved in procedural lapses and corrupt practices during the 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls. The petition further alleged that Fadnavis’s victory in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election from the Nagpur South West Seat is illegal.
In the 2024 Maharashtra elections, Prafulla Vinodrao Gudadhe lost to Fadnavis in the Nagpur South-West constituency by 39,710 votes.
Gudadhe, in the petition, sought the high court to declare the poll result null and void, saying several mandatory provisions were not followed.
Earlier, when Prafulla Vinodrao filed the petition against Devendra Fadnavis, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court even issued summons to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis over an election petition challenging his 2024 win from the Nagpur South-West assembly seat.
The High Court, while issuing summons to the Chief Minister in April, also issued summons to BJP MLA Mohan Mate from Nagpur South and Kirtikumar Bhangdia from the Chimur seat in Chandrapur district in similar election petitions.
However, as the petition against Fadnavis stands dismissed, Gudadhe`s advocate Pavan Dahat said that “the bench dismissed the petition on a technical ground that the petitioner was not physically present at the time of filing of the petition,” as per PTI.
He even said they are already in the process of filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the HC order.
Along with Gudadhe`s election petition, the high court on Friday also dismissed four other petitions challenging the election of BJP MLAs Mohan Mate, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Deorao Bhongle, and Kiritkumar Bhangadia, as per PTI.
The Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Eknath Shinde`s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar`s NCP, swept the assembly elections in 2024 quite comprehensively. The alliance gained 230 seats in Maharashtra`s 288-member assembly, with BJP getting 132. Shiv Sena and NCP secured 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
However, following the victory, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra`s chief minister, with Eknath Shinde and Sharad Pawar being sworn in as deputy chief ministers.
(With PTI Inputs)
