HC rejects petition challenging Shinde Sena MLA Mahendra Thorve’s election

The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition challenging Shiv Sena MLA Mahendra Thorve's 2024 election victory, citing unsupported allegations by his opponent.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition challenging the election of Mahendra Thorve, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA from Karjat, during the 2024 assembly elections.

HC rejects petition challenging Shinde Sena MLA Mahendra Thorve’s election

The plea had been filed by independent candidate Sudhakar Parshuram Ghare, better known locally as Sudhakarbhau, who had lost to Thorve by 5,694 votes. Ghare had alleged corrupt practices, intimidation of supporters, and manipulation of the poll process.

Thorve countered that the charges were vague, unsupported by evidence, and did not constitute a valid cause of action under the Representation of the People Act, 1951. He urged the court to dismiss the petition at the threshold.

Among the allegations made, Ghare claimed that sarees with Shiv Sena stickers and Thorve’s photograph were distributed to women voters. However, Justice Sandeep Marne noted that the petition failed to identify who distributed the sarees or establish any link to Thorve. “The court cannot proceed on inferences or assumptions,” the order observed.

Ghare also accused Thorve of threatening one of his senior supporters, 70-year-old Manohar Patil, during the campaign. But the court found inconsistencies between the petition and the police complaint, which did not indicate any attempt to coerce Patil into supporting the Shiv Sena or show that his right to vote had been interfered with.

Another charge was that Thorve had fielded “dummy candidates” with similar names to split Ghare’s votes. The court rejected this, pointing out that Ghare had contested under his full name, “Sudhakar Parshuram Ghare,” with the auto rickshaw symbol, while the other candidates bore different names and symbols. Their photographs were also displayed on the ballot units. Significantly, the two candidates in question polled only a few thousand votes—well below Thorve’s victory margin.

Ghare further alleged that Thorve had concealed details of a pending criminal case in his nomination papers and that votes from one polling booth were not counted. Both claims, the court ruled, lacked material particulars and could not be substantiated.

Concluding that none of the allegations met the threshold required to annul an election, the High Court dismissed the petition, upholding Thorve’s victory from Karjat.