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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai: In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday. A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his...

HC orders fresh elections in three months

Dr. Rumi F. Beramji Mumbai : In a jolt, the Bombay High Court has directed the state government to hold elections to the Maharashtra Council of Acupuncture (MCA) - which is managed by an Administrator for past three years – within three months, here on Friday.   A division bench of the Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) comprising Justice Ajit Kadethankar and Justice Vibha Kankanwadi were disposing off a petition filed a senior medical practitioner, Dr. Laxman Bhimrao Sawant through his lawyer Sharad V. Natu, seeking different reliefs.   These included alleged serious irregularities in the functioning of the MCA and challenging the continuation of the Administrator for a prolonged period pending the elections. The matter was highlighted in detail by  ‘ The Perfect Voice’   on April 21.   Strong Observations In its order uploaded today, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi noted the petitioner’s contentions that the Administrator, Dr. Rumi F. Beramji was appointed for only one year, and that period is over.   “It should be the endeavour of the State to implement the various provisions of the Act, that is, the Maharashtra Acupuncture System of Therapy Act, 2015. Holding of elections and formation of the council as per Section 3 of the said Act should be adhered to by the State Government and it cannot be then postponed in infinity,” said the court.   Accordingly, Justice Kadethankar and Justice Kankanwadi directed the state government, through the Medical Education & Drugs Department (MEDD) to conduct the MCA elections within a period of three months.   Prolonged Tenure Among other things, the petitioner had termed the appointment and prolonged tenure of former MCA Chairman Dr. Rumi F. Beramji as “illegal and arbitrary,” and detrimental to the cause of Acupuncture.   Elected as the inaugural head (May 2018-May 2023) of the five-member statutory body, Dr. Beramji, was subsequently appointed its Administrator after the MCA’s term expired.   Adv. Natu pointed out that the Administrator’s appointment was intended to be a stop-gap arrangement for one year to facilitate the polls, but it was subsequently ‘extended’. However, nearly three years later, Dr. Beramji continued without fresh elections being conducted, raising questions over adherence to statutory norms and principles of governance.   Directionless Members Dr. Sawant further contended that while Dr. Beramji was installed as Administrator, the remaining members of the council were effectively superseded, leaving the regulatory body without its mandated collective structure, and over 6500-members directionless.   He argued that the excuse cited for delay in conducting elections was ostensibly an incomplete voter list, but this reason was flimsy considering the extended time lapse.   The petition, which was heard and disposed of on April 22, also levelled serious allegations against the style of functioning of the MCA Administrator, decisions were taken unilaterally, whimsically and without transparency or institutional accountability.   Selective Targeting It also made accusations of ‘selective targeting’ of certain prominent members who attempted to raise valid issues, including the globally-renowned noted acupuncture expert Dr. P. B. Lohiya of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.   Other members raised doubts over approvals granted to more than a dozen acupuncture colleges and some two dozen Continuous Acupuncture Education (CAE) centres in undue haste, purportedly in violation of prescribed norms and alleged shady deals. Many of these institutions, it was claimed, either exist only on paper or lack essential infrastructure, faculty and facilities.   The petitioner called for a comprehensive review of the Administrator’s tenure, a financial audit of the MCA's affairs, and an independent probe by the MEDD into the approvals granted to the institutions in recent years.   Dr. Sawant had sought quashing Dr. Beramji’s appointment as MCA Administrator and setting aside all policy decisions taken during his tenure in the last three years, and ordering the government to hold elections to the body.

Shifting Loyalties, Fragmented Alliances

Updated: Nov 18, 2024

Solapur

As November 20 draws ever closer, the electoral contests in the 11 Assembly segments in Solapur district promise to be fiercely fought ones.


The district has historically been a stronghold for both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition MVA, notably the Congress and the NCP (SP).

Historically, Solapur has been a district in flux: in the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP secured four of the district’s 11 seats, and subsequently added another in the Pandharpur by-election when it managed to wrest that seat from the then undivided NCP.


In the aftermath of splits within the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Mahayuti now holds eight of the 11 seats, with the two independents veering towards the ruling coalition. Yet, despite a commanding presence that seems unassailable, recent trends in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, where the alliance lost both the Solapur and Madha constituencies, suggest that the battle for this region is far from a foregone conclusion.


The defection of key leaders and the rise of rebel candidates within both the Mahayuti and MVA camps has added byzantine intrigue to this electoral contest. A record eight rebel candidates have entered the fray, increasing the likelihood of fragmented votes and unpredictable outcomes, especially in constituencies where the margins of victory could be razor-thin. In a district where local feuds often overshadow broader ideological divides, the personal ambitions of these rebels could determine the fate of the election.


The fragmentation within the two major alliances is evident across several key constituencies. Nowhere is this starker than in Solapur City Central, a Congress stronghold, Praniti Shinde, daughter of veteran Congressman and former Union Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, is seeking re-election for a third term. The contest here has turned multi-cornered, with BJP’s Devendra Kothe, CPI(M)’s Narsayya Adam, and Congress’s own Chetan Narote competing alongside AIMIM’s Farooq Shabdi and a rebel NCP candidate, Taufique Shaikh.


The significant Muslim vote in the area, once a reliable source of support for the NCP, is now in danger of splitting, potentially reducing the chances of any single candidate achieving a decisive victory.


In Solapur City North, the BJP’s four-time MLA Vijaykumar Deshmukh faces a challenge from the NCP (SP)’s Mahesh Kothe, but the contest has become more unpredictable due to a rebellion within the BJP ranks. Former mayor Shobha Banshetti is contesting as an independent candidate, drawing support from the area’s significant Lingayat community, a group traditionally aligned with the BJP. The split in the BJP vote could be pivotal, given the area’s strong BJP presence in the recent Lok Sabha elections.


Solapur South, another key constituency, sees BJP’s Subhash Deshmukh defending his seat against Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Amar Patil, with Dharmaraj Kadadi, a prominent Lingayat leader from the NCP, running as an independent.


Factionalism has also affected the PWP bastion of Sangola, where Shiv Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) face off against each other in a contest that also involves the PWP’s Dr. Babasaheb Deshmukh. Similarly, the BJP’s Samadhan Awatade, Congress’s Bhagirath Bhalke, and NCP’s Anil Sawant are locked in a triangular battle in Pandharpur.


Amidst the political turmoil, voters in Solapur are increasingly focused on practical issues. The district, reliant on sugarcane farming, faces chronic water shortages. However, these concerns have been overshadowed by local feuds, ticket disputes, and alliance splits.

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