@YashwantManeNCP
Petitioner Nagnath Kshirsagar argued that Mane, belonging to the Kaikadi caste, was ineligible to contest from Mohol as the seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Mane had earlier won the seat on NCP ticket in the 2019 assembly elections. Kshirsagar’s lawyer Anant Wadgaonkar claimed that members of the Kaikadi caste qualify as Scheduled Castes only in eight districts of Maharashtra, but not in Solapur district.
In a relief to Ajit Pawar’s party NCP, which had challenged the acceptance of party candidate Yashwant Mane’s nomination form, has withdrawn his petition from the Bombay High Court. Mane is the NCP candidate from Mohol assembly seat in Solapur district of Maharashtra. A bench of Justices Arif Doctor and Somashekar Sundaresan indicated that they were not in favor of the petitioner, following which the court allowed it to be withdrawn on Thursday.
Petitioner Nagnath Kshirsagar argued that Mane, belonging to the Kaikadi caste, was ineligible to contest from Mohol as the seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC). Mane had earlier won the seat on NCP ticket in the 2019 assembly elections. Kshirsagar’s lawyer Anant Wadgaonkar claimed that members of the Kaikadi caste qualify as Scheduled Castes only in eight districts of Maharashtra, but not in Solapur district.
Mane’s lawyer, Jagadish Reddy, argued that Kshirsagar’s challenge was invalid because it raised factual disputes unsuitable for resolution under Article 226 of the Constitution, which implements fundamental rights. Mane also pointed out that a similar challenge was earlier rejected by the Nagpur bench of the high court in 2020.
