29 March,2024 09:36 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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According to the Chief Electoral Officer's office in Maharashtra, 110 of the 181 nominations received for the first phase of polling for five Lok Sabha seats were found to be legitimate after vetting.
In Nagpur, 26 of 53 nominations were approved, while in Bhandara-Gondiya, 22 of 40 papers passed the criteria. Similarly, all 12 candidates' papers in Gadchiroli-Chimur were confirmed legitimate, as were 15 of 35 in Chandrapur and 35 of 41 in Ramtek, reported PTI.
The report further stated that the candidates have until March 30 to withdraw their nominations.
The elections for all five Lok Sabha constituencies in the Vidarbha area are set for April 19. Maharashtra, which has 48 Lok Sabha seats, the second biggest after Uttar Pradesh, will vote in five phases beginning April 19, the report further stated.
Another PTI report had previously quoted the State Chief Electoral Officer saying that they had received a total of 229 nominations by 183 candidates for five constituencies in east Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Rashmi Barve's caste validity cancelled
In a setback to the Congress and by extension Maha Vikas Aghadi, the caste validity of its candidate Rashmi Barve was cancelled by the social justice department's caste verification body, stated another mid-day report. Ramtek constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and thence candidates are necessitated to produce a valid caste certificate with their nomination papers.
The Ramtek constituency's returning officer was undergoing nomination review. The report added that the ruling received late on Thursday night was anticipated. It further stated that Barve's opponents had arrived to file their nomination with the state panel's orders.
Meanwhile, the grand old party has a plan B up its sleeve; the party is mulling fielding Barve's husband against Shiv Sena (Shinde)'s Raju Parve for this constituency.
Meanwhile, State Congress chief Nana Patole claimed that the invalidation of Rashmi Barve's caste certificate was a state-sponsored conspiracy to disqualify her. He was quoted in the report as saying, "The cancellation of Barve's caste validity certificate is an act of political vendetta. It is now evident that the BJP is scared of the opposition and sees its defeat."
He further confirmed that the party had an alternative in Ramtek.
