Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday, August 16, summoned BJP MP Narayan Rane in connection to an election petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Vinayak Raut seeking the cancellation of the former's election win from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency.
Rane defeated Raut, a two-term MP, by a margin of 47,858 votes in his debut Lok Sabha election. He secured 4,48,514 votes, while Raut bagged 4,00,656 votes. A single-judge bench of Justice Sarang V Kotwal issued a summons to Rane and scheduled the next hearing date on September 12.
Raut's demand: Raut in his plea accused Rane of winning the Lok Sabha elections 2024 by “fraudulent means” and demanded that his election from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat be cancelled. He also sought a ban on him from contesting elections and voting for five years.
Rane's supporters were seen distributing money to voters by showing them an EVM and asking them to vote for the BJP leader, the plea said. Citing the Representation of People Act, 1951, Raut claimed that election campaign activities are to be halted 48 hours before elections.
However, the acts of Rane and his campaigners were in "clear violation of statutory provision", the plea stated. He also accused the state Chief Electoral Officer of not paying heed to his complaint. The High Court must form an independent committee to investigate the said video, the plea said.
Raut accused Narayan Rane’s son MLA Nitesh Rane of conducting a public meeting on April 13 where voters were threatened of being denied funds if the BJP candidate did not emerge victorious from a particular area. Rane is a former Maharashtra Chief Minister and a former Union Minister.
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