Bombay High Court Allows Withdrawal Of Challenge To NCP Candidate Yashwant Mane’s Nomination In Maharashtra Assembly Polls

In a relief for Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, a challenge to the nomination of party candidate Yashwant Mane, contesting the Mohol Assembly seat in Maharashtra’s Solapur district, has been withdrawn from the Bombay High Court. Mane’s eligibility was disputed by petitioner Nagnath Kshirsagar, who argued that Mane, from the Kaikadi caste, could not run for the Scheduled Caste-reserved seat.

The court allowed the withdrawal on Thursday after a bench of Justices Arif Doctor and Somsekhar Sundaresan indicated they were not inclined to favor the petitioner. Kshirsagar’s lawyer, Anant Vadgaonkar, argued that the Kaikadi caste qualifies as Scheduled Caste in only eight Maharashtra districts, excluding Solapur. However, Mane’s lawyer, Jagdish Reddy, countered that the challenge was fact-based, unsuitable for review under Article 226 of the Constitution, and noted that a similar case was dismissed by the High Court's Nagpur bench in 2020.

The court acknowledged that Kshirsagar could pursue the broader question of caste categorization, but found no substantial basis for contesting Mane's nomination. Kshirsagar withdrew his plea while reserving his right to explore other legal options.

Maharashtra’s 288 Assembly seats will go to polls on November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23.