Scrutiny row sparks Narwekar bias claims

The Congress's decision to not contest any of the three seats in the Cuffe Parade-ColabaChurchgate area and allot it to minor parties that have not fielded candidates, has raised eyebrows.

- Manoj Ramakrishnan

Blaming the affiliated parties for not fielding candidates, party MLA Amin Patel said that Mumbai party president Varsha Gaikwad should answer why the seats were left uncontested. Gaikwad was unavailable for comments.

Local residents said that the Congress decision will benefit the BJP, which has fielded relatives of Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar in all the three seats. A voter from Colaba asked, "The party has a functioning office in here and is trying to revive itself. Its decision will only benefit the BJP," said the voter.

The BJP has fielded Harshita Narwekar, the Speaker's sister-in-law, in ward 225, brother Makarand Narwekar in 226, and cousin Gauravi Shivalkar Narwekar from 227. Congress had allotted the seats to Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), Rashtriya Samaj Paksh and Republic Party of India.