Wadgaonsheri NCP candidate raises complaint over ‘dummy’ opponent
PUNE Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate representing the Sharad Pawar faction in Wadgaonsheri, has lodged a formal complaint with local election authorities concerning an independent candidate with a strikingly similar name.
In Wadgaonsheri, Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare is contesting against the incumbent Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA, Sunil Tingre. Adding a twist to the race, an independent candidate named Bapu Baban Pathare, a resident of Ahmednagar, filed his nomination with a nearly identical name to Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare, a prominent contender in the constituency.
Pathare submitted his complaint to the election officer, highlighting alleged discrepancies in Bapu Baban Pathare’s affidavit and requesting disqualification of his nomination. However, the election official dismissed the complaint, permitting the independent candidate to continue in the election.
“A dummy candidate with my father’s name, Bapusaheb Pathare, filed his nomination last minute on Monday. According to rules, candidate affidavits must be displayed publicly, but Bapu Baban Pathare’s affidavit wasn’t available for viewing. Upon review, we discovered that he omitted a loan and certain bank account details,” stated Surendra Pathare, son of Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare.
Surendra further explained that full disclosure of assets is required in candidate affidavits, which prompted their formal objection.
An election official confirmed that 24 candidates have submitted nominations in Wadgaonsheri, with a specific complaint raised against Bapu Baban Pathare. “The complaint claimed that Bapu Pathare failed to declare an outstanding loan. Upon review, Bapu Pathare clarified that he is making EMI payments on the loan, which he argued doesn’t count as an undeclared debt. Following rules that minor errors in affidavits should not result in disqualification, his candidacy was accepted,” stated the official.
Bapusaheb Tukaram Pathare’s team has indicated they will approach higher authorities to seek further review of Bapu Baban Pathare’s nomination.
(With agency inputs)
