After LS poll loss, sacked IAS officer Khedkar's father joins Maha assembly race

Following an unsuccessful Lok Sabha bid, Dilip Khedkar, father of dismissed IAS officer Puja Khedkar, has entered the assembly race as an independent candidate for the Shevgaon seat in Ahilyanagar district.

This time, he has not mentioned any information related to his wife in the election affidavit, contrary to what he had done during the Lok Sabha polls.

He filed his assembly poll nomination form on Tuesday, the last day of the process.

Khedkar, a former government official, was one of the accused in the case of alleged criminal intimidation along with his wife Manorama Khedkar, who allegedly showed a gun to a farmer in Pune district over a land dispute in June 2023.

Affidavit change

During this year's Lok Sabha elections, Khedkar had mentioned the information related to his wife Manorama in the election affidavit, alluding that they were not separated as claimed by his daughter Puja Khedkar. This time, however, he did not mention the details of his wife in the 'spouse' section.

Also Read: Delhi High Court extends interim protection from arrest to Puja Khedkar

Puja Khedkar is alleged to have misused the OBC non-creamy layer quota in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by falsely claiming that her parents were separated.

In July, a sessions court in Pune granted anticipatory bail to Dilip Khedkar in the criminal intimidation case.

During the Lok Sabha polls, Khedkar had contested as a Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) candidate from Ahmednagar constituency, but failed to win.

Also Read: Anticipatory bail case: HC seeks Puja Khedkar's stand on perjury claim by UPSC

Dilip's flip-flop

Talking about Khedkar's flip-flop on his marital status, RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said on X, "During the Lok Sabha elections, they (Dilip Khedkar and Manorama Khedkar) were married, but when the issue of caste-certificate was involved, they showed themselves as separated and now again Khedkar has shown himself as separated." Puja Khedkar was accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the service. The central government, vide order dated September 6, 2024, discharged her from the Indian Administrative Service under Rule 12 of IAS (Probation) Rules, 1954.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) had on July 31 cancelled her candidature and debarred her from future exams.

(With agency inputs)