Former mayor and BJP leader, Sagar Naik, who is MLA Ganesh Naik’s nephew, has filed a writ petition in the High Court challenging the ward boundaries declared for the impending Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) elections. He claimed that the wards were not marked as per the norms of the Election Commission.
The opposition has termed it as election delaying tactics. Ganesh had earlier alleged bias in the demarcation process and warned that he would approach the court if his demands were not met.
Sagar said, “We have challenged the legality, propriety and correctness of the illegal delimitation of NMMC wards for the civic elections. Though we had registered our objections following the publication of the draft boundaries, they were rejected without any valid reason. We were orally informed about the rejection and no report was submitted despite repeated requests.”
He claimed that the ward boundaries demarcated were not as per the rules and regulations issued by the State Election Commission (SEC). “They have broken up areas and colonies, and there is no uniformity in areas. We have, hence, pleaded that the impugned notification be set aside and quashed as it favours a particular party. In the first hearing, the SEC has been asked to give its say. The next hearing is slated for June 27. We are confident the court will give us justice,” Sagar added.
Claiming that the petition is a ploy to delay the elections, Shiv Sena leader, Kishore Patkar, said, “On the one hand, Ganesh Naik had been claiming that the government is delaying elections using Covid cases as the reason and now they themselves have gone to court. Obviously, they know that they are losing the election and hence these delaying tactics.”
He also questioned the delay of a month for going to the court. Patkar added, “We had filed a caveat in the court and our advocates will be a part of the hearing. They will place on record the facts and the vested interest of the Naiks.”