MUMBAI: In a nail-biting finish, Ravindra Waikar of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena defeated Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) Amol Kirtikar by just 48 votes, the lowest margin in the state. Thackeray said his party will challenge the result in court.
Waikar’s win was declared around 8pm at the counting centre at NESCO in Goregaon. Security had to be beefed up as crowds of supporters of both candidates gathered outside the gates and raised slogans as the vote turned.
SS (UBT)’s Kirtikar had been leading the EVM count for much of the afternoon, with a margin of 1700-odd votes at around 4pm. Confident of victory, he arrived at the counting centre and was met by jubilant supporters. But the mood changed soon after. His lead shrank to one vote. And when the postal ballots were added, the vote swung in Waikar's favour.
Both candidates then approached the returning officer for a recount. Following the rules, the election official re-examined 111 invalid or rejected postal ballots. A postal ballot can be invalid if it is improperly marked or torn, and such votes are scrutinised when the margin of victory by EVM is less than the number of invalid postal votes. But officials deemed that these votes stood as invalid, leaving Waikar with the marginal win.
According to the final tally, Kirtikar received a total of 4,52,596 votes, while Waikar received 4,526,44 votes.
The atmosphere outside Nesco shifted when Sena UBT supporters, who had brought their dhol tasha and gulal, learned about Kirtikar’s narrow loss. They began to shout slogans of “cheater” even as Waikar’s supporters celebrated. Police presence was strengthened but there was no violence, officials said.
Mumbai Northwest was expected to be an intense battle of the Senas. Kirtikar's father Gajanan Kirtikar previously held the seat, and he is now with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena. But his son chose to stand for the seat for Uddhav Thackeray's Sena.
Waikar is a Thackeray family loyalist who had switched over to the Shinde Sena earlier this year, after coming under the scanner of Enforcement Directorate and EOW.
Ravindra Waikar said, “I am glad to have got an opportunity to serve the nation through this seat I have won. I also feel bad about Amol’s loss and apologize to him”.
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