Nagpur: An election petition has been filed in the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court challenging the election expenses of Anup Dhotre, newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament (MP) from Akola Lok Sabha constituency. The High Court also issued notice to Dhotre, directing him to submit a response by January 2.
The petition claims that Dhotre submitted false information regarding his election expenses and exceeded the prescribed limit. The petition was filed by Gopal Chavan, a voter from Umardari in Barshitakli taluka, Akola district.
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Chavan alleged that Dhotre’s declared election expenses are inaccurate and conceal actual expenditures. According to the petition, the Election Commission of India set a maximum limit of Rs 95 lakh for the Lok Sabha election expenses. However, Dhotre reportedly declared a total expenditure of Rs 87,72,932, including Rs 81,17,102 spent by Dhotre personally and Rs 6,55,830 spent by the BJP.
The petition contends that the BJP’s additional expenditure on Dhotre’s campaigning should also have been included in the official account, which would clearly exceed the expenditure limit set by the Election Commission.
In his petition, Chavan accused Dhotre of corruption to win the election, urging that his election should be annulled. The petition was heard by Justice Mahendra Chandwani, with advocate Sandeep Chopde representing Chavan in the proceedings.
