Pune: In a possible setback to the Shiv Sena, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday annulled the election of its Jalna legislator Arjun Khotkar during the 2014 Assembly election on grounds that the MLA had filed his nomination papers after the expiry of the deadline.
Justice T.V. Nalawade passed the order acting on a petition filed by Congress leader Kailash Gorantyal, a former MLA from the Jalna constituency.
However, the court stayed the order for four weeks. It further said, while it was nullifying Mr. Khotkar’s election, it would not pass any ruling declaring Mr. Gorantyal as MLA in lieu of Mr. Khotkar.
Will appeal in SC
Mr. Khotkar, who is also the Minister of State for Textile, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Fisheries in the present Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – Shiv Sena coalition, said he would move the Supreme Court over the High Court’s order.
Both Mr. Gorantyal and Mr. Khotkar are old rivals and stalwart politicos from Jalna district in Marathwada.
The two have been pitted against each other in Assembly elections for over two decades now.
In 1995, Mr. Khotkar upstaged Mr. Gorantyal to bag the Jalna Assembly seat when the Sena-BJP government came to power. However, Mr. Gorantyal soon bounced back, wresting the seat from his rival in 1999.
In 2004, Jalna witnessed yet another see-saw as Mr. Khotkar grabbed the seat from Mr. Gorantyal , only to lose it to the Congressman in 2009.
In 2014, Mr. Khotkar wrenched Jalna for the third time, beating Mr. Gorantyal, who moved the HC challenging the validity of Mr. Khotkar’s election
“It is merely a technical issue. A month’s stay has been given and I will appeal in the apex court,” said Mr. Khotkar, reacting to the ruling.
