Mumbai: Shiv Sena candidate who lost in BMC elections after tie moves court

A Shiv Sena candidate, who lost in a tie-breaker after he and his rival got the same number of votes in last week's BMC elections, moved a court on Thursday here challenging the result. 

Surendra Bagalkar and BJP's Atul Shah got 5,946 votes each in the ward 220 of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. As the number didn't change even after two recounts, Shah was declared the winner through a lottery.

In his petition in the Small Causes Court, Bagalkar prayed that the EVMs used at four polling booths be opened in the presence of the judge and the two candidates to find out in whose favour the 'bogus' votes had been cast. Instead of these bogus votes, 'tender votes' should be considered, it said.

If a person finds out that somebody else has voted in his name, the presiding officer of polling booth can still allow the person to cast the vote through paper ballot. Such votes are termed 'tender votes' and they are kept aside.

If the winning margin is less than the number of tender votes, such votes can be considered, the petition said.

There were five tender votes in ward 220, and had these votes been considered instead of resorting to lottery method, the result could have been different, the plea said.

The petition, filed through Bagalkar's lawyer Balkrishna Joshi, also said that before the chit was drawn, the BMC commissioner had not clarified whether the candidate whose name appeared on the chit would be the winner or the loser.

The case is likely to be heard on March 20.