Nagpur: Refusing to back down after a legal setback, Congress leader Praful Gudadhe Patil has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the election victory of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis from the South-West Nagpur Assembly constituency. This move comes days after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court dismissed Gudadhe’s petition, which alleged serious irregularities in the voter list. Undeterred, the Congress leader is now seeking a fresh hearing at the apex court, determined to pursue what he claims is a fight for electoral transparency and justice.
Gudadhe’s petition in the High Court was dismissed on technical grounds, with the court citing that the petitioner must be present while filing an election-related plea. Gudadhe was not personally present at the time of filing. Gudadhe filed his petition in the Supreme Court on July 25 through lawyers Kishor Lambat and Pawan Dahat. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi is expected to appear in the case. The Supreme Court is likely to hear the matter soon.
Gold Rate
29 July 2025
The case pertains to the alleged registration of 40 to 100 voters using a single mobile number and a spike in the number of voters in CM Fadnavis’ constituency. In the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court, petitioner Prafulla Gudadhe sought to invalidate the election victory of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Along with Gudadhe, several other Congress candidates had also filed election petitions challenging the results in their respective constituencies. Girish Pandav contested the victory of Mohan Mate from South Nagpur, Satish Warjukar filed a petition against Bunty Bhangadiya from Chimur in Chandrapur district, Santosh Singh Rawat challenged Sudhir Mungantiwar’s win from Ballarpur, and Subhash Dhote questioned the election of Deorao Bhongle from Rajura.
However, on July 4, the High Court dismissed all these election petitions, rejecting the challenges raised against the winning candidates. Gudadhe, who is also national secretary of the Congress, is part of a committee led by Prithviraj Chavan to examine discrepancies in voter lists.
