Pune Civic polls: Sena candidate swallows AB forms of his rival party nominee
Pune Civic polls: Sena candidate swallows AB forms of his rival party nominee
Political drama unfolded during the nomination process for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) elections after an extraordinary incident left election officials stunned and police stepping in. A Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) aspirant is accused of tearing and swallowing his rival’s official party authorisation form in a desperate bid to secure the party ticket.
The episode took place on Tuesday when nominations were being accepted for all 165 wards of the PMC. According to election authorities, as many as 3,041 nomination applications were submitted that day. What should have been a routine democratic exercise, however, descended into confusion following the breakdown of the BJP–Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) alliance in Pune, forcing both former allies to contest the civic polls independently.
Tensions reportedly rose after the BJP is said to have offered only 15 seats to the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. With limited time to respond, the Shiv Sena hurriedly distributed AB forms—documents that officially authorise candidates to contest on the party symbol. This rush allegedly resulted in serious lapses, with at least six wards receiving AB forms issued to two candidates each, sparking disputes over who the legitimate nominee was.
One of the most dramatic confrontations was reported from Ward No. 36 in the Sahakarnagar–Padmavati area. Here, AB forms were allegedly given to two Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) hopefuls—Machhindra Dhawale and Uddhav Kamble. Election officials stated that Dhawale reached the nomination centre first and submitted his AB form at around 2:30 pm on December 30.
Later in the day, Kamble arrived to file his papers and asked officials about the status of the AB form already submitted. Officials said they showed him a copy of the document from a distance during scrutiny. At that point, Kamble allegedly grabbed the form, tore it, and ran towards the washroom as people looked on in shock.
When officials checked shortly after, the AB form could not be found. A senior election officer alleged that Kamble had swallowed the torn document, apparently attempting to invalidate Dhawale’s claim as the official Shiv Sena candidate. The matter was immediately reported to the Sahakarnagar Police Station, with election authorities seeking action for obstructing government duties and other applicable offences.
Machhindra Dhawale maintained that he remains the authorised candidate. He said he had submitted his AB form at 2:30 pm, which, according to him, makes his nomination valid. He added that even if the party had mistakenly issued two forms, the one submitted first should be considered legitimate. Dhawale further claimed that after being informed his original form had been misplaced, he returned to the election office and submitted a photocopy.
Uddhav Kamble, meanwhile, declined to give a detailed statement. He accused Dhawale of unlawfully taking the AB form and asserted that he was the rightful candidate. Kamble said he would clarify his position after consulting senior party leaders.
Returning Officer Supriya Karmarkar confirmed the chain of events, stating that Kamble forcibly took the attached AB form during the scrutiny process and fled. “Our staff chased him, but the AB form vanished. We have officially written to the police and requested appropriate legal action,” she said.
