Maha RS polls: Congress petitions EC seeking to invalidate votes of Mungantiwar, Ravi Rana

The Congress on Friday demanded that the Election Commission invalidate the votes of BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar and independent MLA Ravi Rana in the Rajya Sabha election, alleging violation of rules.

State Congress president Nana Patole in a letter to the chief election commissioner claimed that Mungantiwar ''vitiated the voting procedure'' by showing his ballot paper to persons other than his own party's election agents.

Rana openly displayed the Hanuman Chalisa, a religious book, and sought to influence other voters, he alleged.

The counting of votes for six Rajya Sabha vacancies from Maharashtra, for which seven candidates are in the fray, has been delayed as the BJP earlier in the day objected to the ballots cast by Jitendra Awhad (NCP), Yashomati Thakur (Congress) and Suhas Kande (Shiv Sena).