Rajya Sabha election | ECI raises objection to Shiv Sena MLA Suhas Kande's plea over invalid vote

Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the ECI, told a division Bench of Justices S. V. Gangapurwala and Dhiraj Singh Thakur that he was raising a preliminary objection to the plea.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on June 15 raised a preliminary objection to a petition filed by Maharashtra Shiv Sena MLA Suhas Kande against the ECI's decision declaring his vote cast in the last week's Rajya Sabha election as invalid. The ECI's decision had come after the BJP alleged that he violated the voting process.

Mr. Kande, in his petition filed through advocate Ajinkya Udane, said the ECI's decision discharging his vote has caused grave prejudice to his dignity and reputation and sought that the High Court quash and set aside the ECI's decision.

On Wednesday, advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for the ECI, the Election Commissioner and the Chief Election Commissioner, told a division Bench of Justices S. V. Gangapurwala and Dhiraj Singh Thakur that he was raising a preliminary objection to the plea.

"The petitioner should have filed an election petition as he has challenged a decision of the Election Commission," Mr. Chandrachud said. The Bench then said it would hear arguments on the preliminary objections on June 24.

Mr. Kande in his plea claimed that on June 10, when the Rajya Sabha elections were held for six seats in Maharashtra, he had gone to the electoral hall (at the Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai), exercised his right to vote, made the necessary endorsement on the ballot paper and as per rules, came out and showed the ballot paper to Shiv Sena leader Sunil Prabhu, who had issued a whip for the polls.

“It is alleged by MLA Yogesh Sagar that the petitioner had shown his ballot paper to the whip of another political party. This is not true and the petitioner had shown his ballot paper to only Sunil Prabhu and not to any other political party,” the petition said.