Overview
- The State Election Commission has sought reports on whether pressure, allurement or coercion influenced withdrawals and has barred returning officers from declaring unopposed winners until findings arrive.
- Complaints say returning officers in Mumbai’s Colaba wards 225, 226 and 227 refused nominations as relatives of Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar filed papers, prompting a directive to review CCTV; Narwekar rejects the allegations.
- Ruling-alliance candidates include five BJP and four Shiv Sena entrants in Kalyan-Dombivli expected to be unopposed, with at least one BJP candidate unopposed in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Jalgaon and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
- SEC officials say any confirmed violations could lead to action against returning officers, but the law does not allow reopening nominations after the filing deadline.
- Reports are expected after the January 3 withdrawal cutoff, with polling set for January 15 and counting on January 16, and the SEC has also sought a report on a potential code-of-conduct breach by a Thane traffic DCP.