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The long hand of ED and the rise of Maha’s ED (Eknath-Devendra)

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At the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on July 3-4, during the voting the Opposition benches of the Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress reverberated with catcalls of ‘ED’, ‘ED’ to at least one MLA in the House.

The jeering and taunts were directed at the Shiv Sena MLAs group which had revolted on June 20, leading to the collapse of the 3-party 31-month-old MVA alliance — headed by ex-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray — on June 29.

Ten days later on June 30, a new Bharatiya Janata Party-supported government headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in, making it one of the swiftest state political coups in recent decades, and the first of its kind in Maharashtra.

Sensing the �sour mood’ of the Opposition, the Deputy CM later �concurred’ with them, in a lighter vein stating that now, indeed – an �E’-�D’ government – comprising �E’knath Shinde and �D’evendra Fadnavis was in power here.

A harbinger of things to come in the future�?, as many legislators on both sides were left wondering� with central investigation agencies like the Income Tax Department, Enforcement Directorate, Central Bureau of Investigation, Narcotics Control Bureau, et al — once invisible lurking ghosts, but now common household names and the butt of many a joke and memes.

Back in September 2019, the ED had dropped its own IED by issuing a statement naming – of all persons, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar in an alleged money-laundering scam cooked up in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank Ltd.

Unfazed, Pawar took what he termed �the ED’s love-message’ in his stride, and �self-summoned’ himself, dressing up to report suo-moto at the ED office, and perhaps, give the investigators a sharp �love-bite’, too!

Aware of a possible law-and-order situation as thousands of NCP workers prepared to join Pawar’s �ED yatra’, the then BJP-led government of CM Fadnavis panicked.

He immediately deputed the then Police Commissioner to meet and cajole the irked Pawar to abandon his plans – and since that �masterstroke’, the 81-year-old Maratha has not heard from the ED, but recently, the IT department has sent him a notice.

After the BJP-led NDA government took over at the Centre, the non-BJP ruled states, including Maharashtra post-Nevember 2019, are feeling the heat as many of their prominent leaders are being fried on the griddle of one or multiple central agencies.

In fact, Maharashtra had become a favourite hunting ground of the central snoops during the MVA government and the three alliance partners screamed from the rooftops at how the BJP has let loose the ED, IT, CBI, NCB to terrorise and silence them.

However, concealing a smile on a straight face, the BJP leaders airily dismissed all allegations and the central agencies remain freely on the prowl.

The past few years have seen over a dozen Sena-NCP-Congress leaders under microscopic scrutiny, playing havoc with the politicians, their political careers and parties, and lately, even an entire state government.

The targets so far: ex-CM Thackeray’s brother-in-law Shridhar M. Patankar, close associates of son and ex-Minister Aditya Thackeray, while ex-Minister Anil Parab was closeted inside the ED office and outside, his government was crumbling in late-June, Sena MPs Sanjay Raut and Bhavana Gawali – the latter, sacked as the party’s Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha, several legislators like Pratap Sarnaik, MLA Yamini Jadhav’s husband and BMC leader Yashwant Jadhav, Arjun Khotkar, and many more.

In the NCP, those in focus were the close relatives of ex-Deputy CM (new Leader of Opposition) Ajit Pawar, four former ministers — Anil Deshmukh, Nawab Malik (both arrested), Prajakt Tanpure and Eknath Khadse — the last one faced the ED ire after he switched over from the BJP to the NCP and several more coming onto the radar.

Some Congress leaders have complaints against them though the agencies have not yet hounded them. Ex-Congress minister Harshvardhan Patil said on record that after joining the BJP, “there are no enquiries” and he “enjoys sound sleep !”

Post-MVA collapse, there were political murmurs hinting that a couple of top rebels and more than two dozen MLAs who flocked together were reportedly under the lens of one or more agencies.

Some bitter MLAs have also pointed fingers at the MVA leaders for “failure to protect them” from the ceaseless assault of the investigation agencies and felt it �safer’ to ally with the BJP. Pawar once complained to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the harassment.

Probably a telling indicator of the dreadful reputation of the probe organisations, which are now perceived as the most effective �ammunition’ against the Opposition.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Congress Alleges Discrepancies In EVM Numbers In Mira Bhayandar

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Questioning the sanctity of the election process and accuracy of election results which are to be declared on counting day scheduled on Saturday (23, November), the Congress party has alleged discrepancies in the number of votes polled at various booths in the Mira Bhayandar (145) assembly constituency.

In his letter to the returning officer, Congress leader-Anil Sawant who was the election representative of MVA candidate- Muzaffar Hussain pointed out mismatch of 386 additional votes between the data in form 17-C and figures generated by the electronic voting machines (EVM), even as clarity eludes actual figures at some of the other booths.

Seeking an official explanation from the returning officer, Sawant has also alleged that the mock drill votes were also included in the polling figures. According to the figures released by the returning officer, the constituency recorded a voter turnout of 51.75 percent as 2,64,534 out of the 5,10,862 voters exercised their franchise.

However, form 17C shows a count of 51.67 percent which translates into a difference of 0.08 percent (386 votes) on the higher side. Moreover, the complainant has also raised a serious question mark on the delay in publication of the figures of the postal ballots.

While form 17A is used to record the details of every voter who comes into a polling booth and casts his/her vote, form 17C is an account of all the votes recorded. Under Rule 49S(2) of the Conduct of Elections Rules-1961, a presiding officer is mandated to furnish a copy of the entries made in form 17C to the polling agents of the candidates at the close of polling.

7C is crucial as the voter turnout data in this form can be used to legally challenge an election result. The Congress party is expected to take an aggressive stand if the anomalies are not rectified before the counting process.

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Maharashtra

Ex-NCB Officer Sameer Wankhede Moves Bombay HC Seeking CBI Probe Against NCP Leader Nawab Malik

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Ex-NCB Officer Sameer Wankhede Moves Bombay HC Seeking CBI Probe Against NCP Leader Nawab Malik

Mumbai: IRS officer Sameer Wankhede has moved the Bombay High Court, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or court-monitored probe into an FIR he filed in 2022 against former state minister and NCP leader Nawab Malik under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Wankhede, an Additional Commissioner in the Directorate General of Taxpayer Services (DGTS) and a member of the Mahar Scheduled Caste, alleges that the police’s inaction in the matter has caused him and his family significant mental distress and humiliation.

On August 14, 2022, Wankhede filed an FIR with the Goregaon police station against Malik. Malik has neither been arrested in the case, nor has the chargesheet been filed in the case till date. 

Former NCB zonal officer, who shot to fame after arresting actor Shah Rukh Khan son, Aryan Khan, in the 2021 Cordelia Cruise drug bust case, had also arrested Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan. 

Wankhede has alleged that after Sameer Khan’s arrest, Malik launched a sustained campaign to defame and humiliate him and his family on social media and television, targeting their caste and questioning the authenticity of Wankhede’s caste certificate. 

The officer had earlier filed a complaint with the Scheduled Caste Commission in October 2021, seeking action against Malik. 

Despite a restraining order issued by the High Court in a separate defamation suit prohibiting Malik from making defamatory remarks, Wankhede claims Malik continued to violate the order, including questioning the validity of his caste certificate as recently as on October 27, 2024. 

A caste scrutiny committee has since upheld the authenticity of Wankhede’s certificate in a detailed 91-page report.

Malik Influenced State Police To Delay Probe: Sameer Wankhede

Wankhede alleges that Malik has influenced the state police to delay the investigation. He points out that critical provisions under the SC/ST Act have yet to be added to the FIR despite multiple reminders to the Goregaon police. “Respondent No. 2 (Malik), with his muscle power, influence and money power is controlling the state police machinery and continues to commit further offence, this can be overtly witnessed as how the Accused (Malik) is openly giving interviews to various media platforms and us wandering freely and yet no arrest is affected despite being no protective order,” the petition, filed through advocate Sana Khan,  read.

Wankhede seeks the court’s direction to transfer the investigation to an independent agency or the CBI, ensure the addition of necessary provisions under the SC/ST Act, and order the submission of a detailed report on the investigation’s progress.

Wankhede has also highlighted a similar FIR filed by his cousin, Sanjay Wankhede, which has faced the same lack of action. He contends Malik’s actions are politically motivated, aimed at influencing voters before elections.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on November 28. 

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Maharashtra

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Mumbai Sees Marginal Rise In Voter Turnout, Suburbs Lead At 56.39%, City At 52.65%

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The voter turnout figures released on Thursday by the BMC indicated a low turnout in the city during the November 20 assembly election. In Mumbai city district, voter participation stood at 52.65%, while the suburban district saw a slightly higher turnout of 56.39%; both figures are marginally higher than 2019.

In Mumbai city, which covers 10 constituencies, there are a total of 25,43,610 registered voters. Of these, 13,39,299 cast their ballots. The male voter turnout was 52%, with 7,10,174 out of 13,65,904 male voters participating. Female voters turnout was lower at 53%, with 6,29,049 women out of 11,77,462 voting. Additionally, 76 voters from the “other” category cast their ballots out of 244 eligible voters.

The lowest voter turnout in Mumbai city was recorded in Colaba, with just 44.44%. Other areas with low turnout included Mumbadevi (48.76%), Dharavi (50.03%), Malabar Hill (52.53%), and Byculla (53.02%). In contrast, Mahim saw the highest voter participation at 59.01%, followed by Wadala (57.67%), Shivadi (55.52%), Sion Koliwada (53.56%), and Worli (53.53%).

In Mumbai suburban, which encompasses 26 constituencies, the voter turnout reached 56.39%. There are 76,86,098 registered voters in this district, with 43,34,513 casting their votes. Among male voters, 57% participated 23,58,589 out of 41,01,457, while 57% of female voters also voted 20,33,654 out of 35,83,803. Additionally, 270 people from the ‘other’ category voted out of 838 eligible individuals.

The lowest voter turnout in the suburban district was seen in constituencies such as Vandre West (51.36%), Versova (51.44%), Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar (52.14%), Kalina (52.68%), and Chandivali (52.97%). On the other hand, the highest turnout was recorded in constituencies like Bhandup West (62.88%), Borivali (62.32%), Mulund (61.42%), Ghatkopar West (59.99%), and Ghatkopar East (59.58%).

Several constituencies in Mumbai witnessed a significant rise in voter participation compared to the 2019 assembly elections. In Andheri West, the voting percentage jumped from 43.52% in 2019 to 53.67% in 2024; a rise of over 10%. Versova’s turnout rose from 42.38% in 2019 to 51.44% this year, while Mulund saw an increase from 53.81% to 61.42%. Vandre West’s turnout also grew substantially from 44% to 51.36%, with a similar trend in Goregaon (from 46.44% in 2019 to 55.61% this year) and Shivadi’s 49.33% in 2019 to 55% in 2024.

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