Date:05/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/05/stories/2009070554580500.htm

National

Election of Kamal Nath, Sushma Swaraj challenged

Staff Reporter

Bhopal: Separate election petitions have been filed before the Principal Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging the election of Congress leader Kamal Nath and BJP leader Sushma Swaraj to the Lok Sabha from the State.

Union Minister Kamal Nath’s election from Chhindwara has been challenged by former State Minister and BJP leader Chandrabhan Singh accusing Mr. Kamal Nath of furnishing incorrect campaign expenditure details. Mr. Singh has charged that Mr. Kamal Nath, who declared an election expenditure of Rs.4 lakh on use of helicopter, has furnished incorrect information. Mr. Kamal Nath used a helicopter from April 6 to 17 for about seven hours a day.

Mr. Singh claims that the chopper costs Rs.75,000 an hour and thus would have cost Mr. Kamal Nath a lot more than the declared amount. The controversial Vidisha chapter of the 15th Lok Sabha elections refuses to die down and has been revived again with the disgraced Congress candidate for Vidisha, Rajkumar Patel, filing a petition challenging BJP leader Sushma Swaraj’s election.

Mr. Patel has accused Vidisha’s returning officer of illegally rejecting his candidature to favour Ms. Swaraj. Another petition is understood to have been filed by a Congress supporter challenging Ms. Swaraj’s election, alleging that the randomisation of electronic voting machines was not carried out properly by the authorities concerned.