The Bombay High Court on Friday told Bharatiya Janata Party MP Narayan Rane to respond to a petition filed by a Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader challenging his victory in the Lok Sabha election, PTI reported.
The petition was filed in July by Vinayak Raut, who lost to Rane from Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg constituency by nearly 48,000 votes.
Raut alleged that a video surfaced after the election campaign ended showing the BJP leader’s supporters distributing money to voters. The Uddhav Sena leader said he had complained to the Maharashtra chief electoral officer in May, but did not get a response, after which he approached the High Court.
Raut asked for the election result from the seat to be cancelled and for a repoll to be ordered. He also demanded that Rane be barred from contesting elections or voting for five years.
The High Court is slated to hear the case on September 12.
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