Mumbai :A returning officer in Mumbai has concluded that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Kirit Somaiya and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate Sanjay Dina Patil have given false information to the Election Commission (EC) regarding election expenditure.
 
The two candidates have been ordered by the Returning Officer of 28 Mumbai North East Parliamentary Constituency to add Rs. 20 Lakh and Rs. 8 Lakh respectively to their expenditure accounts. The order comes days after the AAP complained to the Returning Officer about the unauthorised issuance of voter slips by the BJP and NCP candidates.

Anil Hebbar, Election Agent of Medha Patkar, had filed a complaint with the Retuning Officer in the first week of April. “The Model Code of Conduct clearly states that the candidates are not permitted to handover voter slips containing the name or symbol or party,” the complaint stated. According to the rules, the voter slips have to be printed on plain white paper only, it added.The complainant attached copies of laminated and plastic voter slips issued by Mr. Somaiya and Mr. Patil with their names and party symbols on it.

The Returning Officer thus revaluated the costs and ordered the two candidates to add around Rs. 20 Lakh and Rs. 8 Lakh each to their expenditure accounts. “We feel extremely anguished that the Election Commission of India is taken for a ride by the mainstream parties who take pride in falsely claiming themselves to be capable of good governance. Can the violators of law ever provide good governance? Can the election and the results based on such campaigns of falsehood be considered as free and fair?” a statement issued by AAP on Wednesday said.

Mr. Somaiya and Mr. Patil are contesting the Lok Sabha elections against renowned social activist and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Medha Patkar.