4 days Ago By Alim Shaikh
Pune: The Bombay high court (HC) has summoned NCP's MLA from Pimpri and deputy speaker of the state assembly Anna Bansode and others in a petition file by former corporator and NCP (SP) politician Sulakshana Shilwant Dhar challenging his poll win. Dhar contested the assembly election against Bansode in Nov 2024 and lost by a margin of 36,664 votes. In an order passed on Wednesday, the HC directed Bansode and other members, including the Election Commission of India (ECI), to appear before the court on the next hearing on April 2.
Dhar said all respondents were served two notices earlier, but did not respond. Consequently, the court sent out summons. Dhar claimed the voting percentage in Pimpri constituency had increased suspiciously after 4pm.
She said ECI's declared number of voters did not match the actual votes cast at polling booths in Pimpri on the voting day. "The ECI refused to share CCTV footage of polling booths and form 17. Resultantly, I filed a petition," she told TOI.
She had also complained about missing details in Bansode's election affidavit regarding properties linked to him. Dhar had demanded cancellation of his nomination, but the returning officer refused. She said the matter was mentioned in her petition and demanded action on it as well.
Stay updated with the latest city news , Air Quality Index (AQI), and weather updates for major cities like Delhi , Mumbai , Noida , and Bangalore on Times of India ..
