Mumbai: The Congress Party's decision to not contest any of the three seats in the prominent Cuffe Parade-Colaba-Churchgate area and allot it to minor parties that have not fielded candidates, has raised eyebrows among voters in the area. Party members said that they were not in favour of surrendering the seats to minor partners, but had to do so to avoid a friction in the alliance.
Amin Patel, Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly, blamed the affiliated parties for not fielding candidates. “It is the mistake of the affiliated parties that they took seats from us and did not field candidates there. The (Congress) committee in charge of the election had a discussion with Mahadev Jankar (of the Rashtriya Samaj Paksh) and RPI (Gavai). VBA wanted a seat because there is a large slum population. We did not want to give these seats, but the committee decided to give up the seats because the dispute was stalling the alliance,” said Patel who added that Varsha Gaikwad, Member of Parliament and Mumbai Congress president should answer the question why the seats were left uncontested. “The decision was taken with her knowledge,” said Patel. Gaikwad was not available for a comment.
Local residents said that the decision by the Congress to leave the seats to allies will benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which has fielded relatives of Maharashtra assembly speaker, Rahul Narwekar, in all the three seats. A voter from Colaba questioned the Congress' decision. “The party has a functioning office in the area and is trying to revive itself. This decision to give the seats to minor parties that have not fielded candidates will only benefit the BJP,” said the voter. Jankar was not available for a comment. Prakash Ambedkar, president of VBA, did not comment, saying that he was traveling.
The BJP has fielded Harshita Narwekar, the speaker's sister-in-law, in ward 225, brother Makarand Narwekar in 226, and cousin Gauravi Shivalkar Narwekar from 227. Congress had allotted the seats to the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Rashtriya Samaj Paksh and Republic Party of India (Gavai), none of which had fielded candidates in the seats given to them as part of the alliance with the Congress.
“There is not a single Congress candidate in Colaba, Cuffe Parade, Fort, Marine Drive. The party has been eliminated from the area,” said Margaret DaCosta, a resident of Colaba whose application as a candidate for the Aam Aadmi Party was rejected on grounds because it came a few minutes late on December 30, the last day for applying as a candidate.
Dr Laura D'souza, president of the Cuffe Parade Residents' Association, whose application as a Congress candidate was rejected on technical grounds on December 31, the day for the final scrutiny of the application forms. “My two forms were accepted on December 30 and the Congress form was rejected the next day citing delay in submission of the AB form when it was clearly mentioned in the booklet given by them that the last date of submission for it was 31st at 11 am. I submitted it at 10 am. They also wrote my voter ID deliberately wrongly on the Congress form. They are threatened that I am a strong candidate and when stronger when backed by a party," said D'souza, whose application as an independent candidate has been accepted.
The fiasco has led to allegations that the process of filing and scrutinising of applications were done to help the Narvekars. On Friday, Preeti Sharma Menon, Mumbai president and national executive member of the AAP, alleged in a message on 'X' that Rahul Narvekar was in the Returning Officer's (RO) room when the applications were being scrutinised. “On December 30, when applications were being filed, Rahul Narvekar was in the RO's room. In what capacity was he there. He asked the RO not to accept the applications from 17 candidates. Candidates were waiting outside,” said Menon.
Narwekar called the allegations that the process was managed to favour BJP candidates, 'absolutely fabricated, malicious, and completely motivated'. “AAM party has lost the plot and is resorting to these fabrications. How is it illegal if the RO decides not to accept applications after 5.00pm/ Why should I tell him (not to accept applications) ? The law is clear (about the deadline),” said Narwekar.
Narwekar said he was present in the RO's room. “I was there in accordance with law. In all the 36 assembly segments, the MLAs accompanied their party's candidate. I am the MLA from Colaba. The truth is that when I left the RO's office, some people created a ruckus. This is what transpired. The story has been fabricated,” said Narwekar.
BOX: Around 12 candidates from various political parties from wards 225, 226, and 227, led by former MP Haribhau Rathod, met Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani on Friday, alleging irregularities in the nomination process. They claimed that despite reaching the Returning Officer’s office well within the stipulated time to file their nomination papers, they were misinformed and deliberately delayed. Consequently, their nominations were rejected on the grounds that the deadline had elapsed. Acting on the complaint, Gagrani has forwarded their representation to Joint Municipal Commissioner Vishwas Shankarwar for inquiry.
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