Dinesh Waghmare: Action will be taken against Narwekar, if found guilty

In an exclusive interview to HT, Waghmare fielded questions on the SEC’s role in tackling both issues, that of 0.15 million duplicate voters

MUMBAI All eyes turned to the State Election Commissioner (SEC) Dinesh Waghmare since 68 Mahayuti candidates across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were declared winners “unopposed”, and Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar was found to have allegedly violated the model code of conduct by influencing the nomination process, ahead of the civic elections on January 15. In an exclusive interview to HT, Waghmare fielded questions on the SEC’s role in tackling both issues, that of 0.15 million duplicate voters.

Mumbai, India - Nov. 4, 2025: Maharashtra Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare(C) held a press conference at at Sachivalay Gymkhana, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

There is an uproar over 68 Mahayuti candidates being elected unopposed in various corporations. What is the action being taken against such an unprecedented development?

This has happened in the past too, though the number is high this time. However, the “winning” candidates represent less than 3% seats of the total 2869 in the elections.

The SEC had issued an order in 2004 directing commissioners of the corporations to submit a comprehensive report with input from other authorities on these “unopposed elections”. The commissioners, who also act as chief election officers for respective corporations, are called upon to investigate anomalies on three factors: undue pressure on a candidate to withdraw, inducement in the form of money or other favours, and the use of muscle power to facilitate the withdrawal.

If inducement or threat is proven we cancel the election and order fresh polls there.

What is the legality of not holding elections in these wards claiming that they were “unopposed” as the Opposition and activists have demanded elections quoting a Supreme Court (SC) order?

The elections are being conducted adhering to the statute and provisions in the Representation of People Act and the municipal acts. These laws have provisions of announcing unopposed elections where there is only one candidate in the fray. We cannot hold elections considering NOTA as a candidate. Unopposed elections have taken place over the years and no unopposed election has been termed illegal by the EC or any other authority.

Complaints are rife about returning officers (ROs) working under pressure from ruling parties and the unlawful prevention of Opposition candidates from filing nominations.

We have a complaint only from Colaba, which is being investigated. There have been no similar complaints. The further course of action will soon be announced after the probe is complete.

This is also happening because the number of candidates filing nominations has gone up 10-fold in this election. We are examining the report submitted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner, while video recordings of the RO’s office are also being scanned.

What is the remedy for probable candidates who have not been allowed to file nominations and have complained?

If it is proved that they were not allowed to file their nomination, we can cancel the ongoing polls and order fresh elections.

Will there be action taken against Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar if he is found guilty?

I cannot comment on that. We are going through the video recording from the RO’s office during the time of filing nominations. After reviewing the BMC commissioner’s report and viewing the videos, if an outsider is found to have influenced the nomination process, action of violation of model code of conduct can be initiated as per law. Even the speaker can face action for such a violation if found guilty. Action will be taken by the BMC commissioner.

There was a big number of ‘dubar’ or duplicate voters found in Mumbai. The inflated rolls also hamper the voting percentage.

Of the 10.3 million voters in Mumbai, the suspected number of duplicate voters was 1.1 million, but following physical verification by the BMC the final number was revealed to be at just 0.15 million.

The initial bloated number of voters was also because of a high percentage of floating population, and identical names of people in many communities such as Muslims and north Indians.

If there are only 0.15 million duplicate voters in Mumbai, what is the percentage in all 29 corporations?

There were 1.5 million suspected voters in 29 municipal corporations, but after the screening and physical verifications, the actual figures in the bodies remain to be between 5% and 10%.

Had the annual special summary revision (SSR) been conducted, would the number of duplicate voters drastically reduce? Also, first time voters would not have been deprived of voting, right? (Voters who turned 18 after the Assembly elections were not allowed to register.)

Definitely. The SSR cleans up the electoral rolls. Had it been done by the Election Commission of India, complaints and allegations related to duplicate voters would not have risen. First time voters who turned 18 after October 2024 would have got a chance to vote.

There is a perception that no action is taken on complaints by Opposition candidates, especially those from smaller parties. What do you have to say?

We have taken note of it. In fact, in today’s review meeting, I directed police commissioners and election authorities to provide proper protection to independents and candidates of smaller parties to ensure free and fair elections.