BMC Elections 2017: Luck decides BJP’s fate in Null Bazar

The contest in Ward 220 in Null Bazaar, the last seat called on Thursday, proved to be a cliffhanger as the Shiv Sena and BJP candidates were tied on votes even after counting was done twice. Eventually, the BJP was declared winner in the seat, but on the basis of the lucky-draw system.

The lucky candidate to win was Atul Shah against Shiv Sena’s Surendra Bagulkar, who was the sitting corporator in the ward. Shah is a former member of the Legislative Assembly. 

Under the lucky-draw system, the chit with Shah’s name was picked up by a four-year-old girl in the presence of Municipal Commissioner Ajoy Mehta.

When counting began on Thursday morning, Shah was leading. However, later in the afternoon, Bagulkar gained and there was a tie between the two candidates. Around 4 pm, when all 13 rounds of counting were over, both Shah and Bagulkar had 5,946 votes each. Thus, a re-counting was done, but the result was again a tie.

The lucky draw was conducted according to the election rules. Around 6 pm, Yashika Salunkhe was called to pick up a chit at a Mumbai Central counting centre where Mehta was present. 

To the disappointment of the Sena candidate, the chit chosen by Salunkhe turned out to have Shah’s name on it.

The result, however, has not gone down well with Sena. “The party will decide to call for re-poll, if needed,” said Gajanan Bhosale, Shakha Pramukh of Shiv Sena.