The Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar against the electoral victory of Ravindra Waikar, a leader from the rival Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde. The petition sought to annul Waikar’s election to the Lok Sabha from the Mumbai North-West constituency, declaring it null and void and requesting that Kirtikar be declared the duly elected representative.
Justice Sandeep Marne, presiding over the case, ruled against the petition without providing grounds for dismissal. Kirtikar had alleged discrepancies in the vote count of the closely contested election held earlier this year, where he lost to Waikar by a mere 48 votes—452,644 to 452,596.
In his detailed plea, Kirtikar claimed serious lapses in the electoral process, accusing election officials of mishandling the count. He highlighted that 333 votes were cast by impersonators, which he argued could have influenced the final result significantly. Moreover, he described the actions of the returning officer during the count as showing “high-handed hastiness and palpable arbitrariness.”
