Dadar Corporator Vishakha Raut Faces Disqualification Over Caste Certificate
The caste verification committee in Palghar district has declared the caste certificate of former Mumbai mayor and sitting Dadar corporator Vishakha Raut invalid, putting her civic post at risk. Officials stated that unless the senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader secures a stay from the authority, her election as corporator is likely to be cancelled.
Raut, who previously served as an MLA from Dadar and is considered close to the Thackeray family, contested the civic elections from ward number 191 in Dadar. The seat was reserved for the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category. She won the seat after defeating Priya Sarvankar, daughter of former Dadar MLA Sada Sarvankar, by 191 votes.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Raut alleged that the committee invalidated her certificate under political pressure from Sada Sarvankar following his daughter's electoral defeat. She stated that she belongs to the Kunbi community and had furnished supporting documentation from her family and her grandfather's brothers' families.
Raut explained that the Subdivisional Officer (SDO) in Palghar had originally sanctioned her caste certificate, after which she filed her nomination for the civic elections. She stated that the caste scrutiny committee later determined that the SDO lacked the jurisdiction to issue the certificate in question. Raut announced that she plans to challenge the cancellation before the Collector.
Sada Sarvankar rejected the allegations, denying any interference with the committee's decision. He stated that as a former MLA he holds no authority to pressurise officials, adding that Raut was making claims solely because her certificate had been invalidated.
To date, four other BMC corporators elected from reserved category seats have faced disqualification after their caste certificates were declared invalid: AIMIM corporators Roshan Shaikh from ward 138 and Sameer Ramzan Patel from ward 137, NCP corporator Bushra Nadeem Malik from ward 170, and Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator Deepak Sawant from ward 111. All four have approached the judiciary to challenge the decisions.
