HC rejects Maneka Gandhi's plea against election of SP candidate, says it is time-barred
Lucknow, Aug 14: The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday dismissed former Union minister Maneka Gandhi's plea challenging the election of Samajwadi Party's Ram Bhual Nishad from Sultanpur Lok Sabha seat, stating that the petition is time-barred.
The High Court's Lucknow bench held that the petition was filed after the deadline of 45 days, the statutory period for filing such cases before the HC, and hence the plea cannot be heard on merit.
Justice Rajan Rai gave the verdict on the election petition filed by Maneka Gandhi after reserving the order on August 5 on the maintainability of the petition.
Appearing through video conferencing for Maneka Gandhi, senior Supreme Court advocate Siddharth Luthra had on August 5 stressed before the bench that the plea should be decided on merit because Nishad had deprived the voters of their right to know his full criminal history.
He had argued that the delay in filing the petition should be condoned.
It had been pleaded that 12 criminal cases were pending against Nishad, whereas he had given information about only eight cases in his affidavit.
Turning down the plea of Maneka Gandhi, the court said, "This election petition being time-barred by Section 81 read with Section 86 of the Representation of People Act 1951 and Order VII Rule 11(d) of the Code of Civil Procedure is liable to be dismissed."
Maneka Gandhi, who lost to Nishad by a margin of 43,174 votes, filed the election petition late last month.
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Kerala polls: ‘People rejected 10 years of misrule’, says AICC gen secy
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday said the Congress-led UDF’s sweeping victory in the Kerala Assembly polls was a clear verdict against the “arrogance”, corruption, and nepotism of the CPI(M)-led LDF government headed by CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Addressing a press conference as counting of votes for all 140 Assembly constituencies neared completion, Venugopal said the outcome reflected public anger against what he termed “10 years of misrule” by the Left government.
He claimed that Vijayan’s victory in his home constituency, Dharmadam, was “only technical”, alleging that the CM trailed the UDF candidate in the initial rounds of counting and failed to secure a majority in his own village.
“He just escaped. He suffered a setback even in his home turf. He was the only person who did not realise the people’s mood in this election,” Venugopal said.
Alleging that the CPI(M) and the LDF had resorted to “communal and opportunistic politics”, he further claimed that the ruling front had entered into a “secret understanding” with the BJP in a bid to retain power for a third consecutive term.
He said that when a government driven by power and arrogance attempts to align with anyone to stay in office, even its own cadre turns against it.
Referring to the results, Venugopal said that while the UDF expected rebel CPI(M) leaders, including K Kunhikrishnan in Payyannur, to impact the vote share, their victories came as a surprise.
Describing the UDF’s performance as a “historic victory”, he attributed it to coordinated teamwork, grassroots mobilisation, and the dedication of party workers, adding that the alliance accepted the mandate “with humility”.
Venugopal also credited Rahul Gandhi’s campaign guarantees, calling them a “trump card” that helped voters focus on real issues and reject what he described as the LDF’s “false narratives”.
He claimed that the Congress witnessed one of its lowest levels of rebellion in this election, which contributed to the alliance’s strong performance.
The senior Congress leader further alleged that the BJP managed to win two seats with the help of the CPI(M), and asserted that forces attempting to divide society on communal lines should “learn a lesson” from Kerala’s verdict.
“This is the real Kerala story,” he said.
On the question of the next Chief Minister, Venugopal said the party leadership would decide at the earliest after due consultations.
The counting of votes began on Monday morning for all 140 Assembly constituencies in Kerala, where the Congress-led UDF secured a decisive majority, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF, which was seeking an unprecedented third consecutive term in office.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) posts, "Thank you to my brothers and sisters in Keralam for a truly decisive mandate. Congratulations to every UDF leader and worker for a hard-fought, well-run campaign. As I said before, Keralam has the talent, Keralam has the potential… pic.twitter.com/6T4IZbEmp4
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 4, 2026
