Pune, Oct 30 (PTI) Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare, the NCP (SP) candidate from Vadgaon Sheri assembly seat in Pune, has alleged that an Independent candidate with an identical name has made incomplete disclosures and sought his disqualification.
Pathare is pitted against MLA Sunil Tingre of Ajit Pawar-led NCP for the November 20 polls.
One Bapu Baban Pathare, a resident of Ahilyanagar district, has filed his nomination as an Independent candidate.
Bapusaheb Pathare approached election officials, claiming anomalies in the affidavit of the Independent candidate and seeking rejection of his nomination. However, officials allowed the candidate to remain in the race.
“A dummy candidate with my father’s name, Bapusaheb Pathare, filed his nomination at the last moment on Monday. As per the rules, candidates’ affidavits should be displayed publicly, but Bapu Baban Pathare’s affidavit was not on display.
“During our scrutiny of his affidavit, we found that he had not disclosed one of his loans and the amount in his bank accounts,” said Surendra Pathare, son of the NCP (SP) candidate.
Since it is mandatory for candidates to disclose assets through the affidavit, he said, they raised an objection and filed a formal complaint.
A total of 24 candidates filed have nominations in the Vadgaon Sheri constituency, said a poll official.
“A complaint was received against one candidate, Bapu Baban Pathare, alleging that he failed to disclose one of his outstanding loans in the affidavit. We sought clarification from Bapu Pathare, who explained that he is paying EMIs on the loan and that it’s not a loan per se. Based on rules stating that minor mistakes in affidavits should not lead to disqualification, we allowed his candidacy,” the official said.
Surendra Pathare said they will approach higher authorities to push for the cancellation of Bapu Baban Pathare’s candidature.
In the Parvati constituency in Pune, where NCP (SP) leader Ashwini Nitin Kadam is contesting against BJP MLA Madhuri Misal, two more Independent candidates with similar names have filed their nominations.
One of them is ‘Ashwini Nitin Kadam’, which is completely identical to the name of the NCP (SP) nominee. The other is Ashwini Vijay Kadam. PTI SPK NR
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