Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Congress on Friday (January 2, 2026) accused Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar of violating the model code of conduct in force for civic polls, interfering in the nomination process and tampering with CCTV footage linked to the exercise.
The allegations related to the filing of nominations by candidates on December 30 at the Returning Officers' (RO) office in Colaba, which was handling forms from three wards, for the January 15 polls to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The nomination process ended on December 30.
Mr. Narwekar, the BJP MLA from Colaba in South Mumbai, dismissed the charges as "baseless" and politically motivated. The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) on Thursday sought a report from civic chief Bhushan Gagrani following claims by some candidates that returning officers in Colaba refused to accept their nomination forms.
Some candidates who failed to submit their nominations in Colaba have alleged Narwekar pressurised local officials to not accept forms of some contestants. They claimed Narwekar's attempt was to filter out potential candidates who could have damaged the prospects of the election of three BJP candidates who are relatives of the Speaker.
