UP Election: Polls to the 403-member will be held in multiple phases over the next 2 months. (File)
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday alleged that the nominations of six to seven candidates of his party for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections were rejected "illegally".
Talking to reporters, Mr Raut said he will meet the Election Commission over this and submit all required documents.
Elections to the 403-member UP Assembly will be held in multiple phases over the next two months.
Mr Raut alleged that in six to seven constituencies in Noida, Bijnor and Meerut, the respective district magistrates misused their powers and rejected the nominations of Shiv Sena candidates "under pressure" so as to not allow the party from setting foot in UP.
"The documents were perfect and the papers were filed on time. The reason for the rejection of our Bijnor candidate is the same as the objection raised by our (Goa) candidate over Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's nomination form (in the poll-bound coastal state). Sawant's side was heard by authorities and the issue was settled (in Sawant's favour), but in UP, our candidates were not allowed to respond to the objections," he said.
Some of the Sena's candidates have been threatened and asked to withdraw from the poll fray in UP, the Rajya Sabha member claimed.
Some people fear the Sena candidates may win or ensure loss of their nominees, he said in a veiled reference to the BJP.
"This is not democracy. The election should be free and fair," the Shiv Sena's chief spokesperson said.
Asked about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's tweet on Mahatma Gandhi being assassinated by a Hindutvawadi, Mr Raut said, "A Hindutvawadi would have killed Jinnah, who demanded (creation of a separate country) Pakistan and not an unarmed Mahatma Gandhi." "A 'Hindutvawadi' had shot Gandhi ji. All 'Hindutvawadis' feel that Gandhiji is no more. Where there is truth, Bapu is still alive there," the Congress leader tweeted in Hindi, using the hashtag 'Forever Gandhi', on the occasion of the death anniversary of the Father of the Nation on Sunday.
The Congress shares power with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)