Congress veteran limps his way to file papers in Nagpur, but misses deadline by 2 mins

NAGPUR: After raising the banner of revolt and snapping his four-decade-old ties with the Congress to contest from Nagpur Central in the Maharashtra elections , veteran politician Anees Ahmed missed the deadline to file nomination Tuesday on a Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) ticket by two minutes.

"My nomination was not accepted by the returning officer as I missed the 3pm deadline," Ahmed said. His absence throughout the morning and his last-minute scramble sparked speculations in political circles about his intent to contest.

Former in-charge secretary of Delhi, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh Congress committees, Ahmed arrived at Nagpur Central returning officer's booth moments after the 3pm deadline, after claiming to cross a mountain of obstacles like road closures, vehicular restrictions, security protocols, and last-minute documentation.

The submission window was open from 11am to 3pm.

Public announcements urged candidates to expedite submissions at 2.30pm, with a final reminder at 2.45pm. The doors were sealed at 3pm. Ahmed remained at the returning officer's camp till 8pm, pleading that his nomination be accepted. He cited his difficult trek with an injured knee to the collectorate office as the administration had restricted road access. Ahmed cited time constraints following his exit from Congress Sunday and his subsequent journey to Mumbai for induction in VBA, and Tuesday's nomination.

"Securing NOCs, clearance certificates, establishing nationalised bank accounts kept me tied up till 2.30pm," he said. The development drew sharp reactions from several quarters who dubbed the act as a ploy to skip the electoral battle. Sources said the blot of indirectly helping BJP played on his mind and this froze his desire to contest. Now, VBA will remain unrepresented in Nagpur Central, having failed to field an alternative candidate and this inadvertently will benefit Congress, say political onlookers.