BMC Polls | Independent Candidate Tejal Pawar Alleges Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Narvekar Offered Her Money To Withdraw Papers
Rahul Narverkar has denied all allegations and stated that he has not met Tejal Pawar in his life.
Published : January 8, 2026 at 4:01 PM IST
By Prajakta Pol
Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker, Rahul Narvekar, continues to skirt controversy. Now, from Ward No. 226 in Mumbai, an independent candidate, Tejal Pawar, has made a grave accusation against the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, Narvekar, for forcing her to drop out of the race. Three of the Narvekar family members are contesting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls.
Voting for the BMC polls will take place on January 15, 2026, while the counting of votes will be held a day later. Tejas's husband, Deepak Pawar, filed an official complaint against Narvekar at the Colaba police station.
In his statement, Deepak said, Tejal filed her nomination papers on December 30, 2025. "Then on December 31, 2025, after the scrutiny of her nomination papers, Narvekar's supporters took me in a car to Byculla. Speaker Rahul Narvekar and his brother Makarand were in their vehicle while some other supporters took Tejal in a different vehicle. Myself and Tejal were taken to Narvekars' home in Cuffe Parade," alleged Deepak.
Tejal told ETV Bharat, "I left saying our small children were at home alone and returned to our bungalow in Colaba. But they bribed Deepak with a financial offer. He told them I had the final say, and my husband turned down the offer."
She further alleged, "Makarand Narvekar then contacted me and requested a meeting. I declined to travel and told him I would send my husband after talking to him about our decision."
Tejal alleged Rahul Narvekar had sent his Personal Assistant to threaten her. "Narvekar's PA visited us and attempted to convince me to withdraw my nomination papers. He mentioned the name of a 'Raju' during the conversation, claiming that he had been externed and had criminal charges brought against him. I asked him directly if he was threatening me. He then offered me Rs 10 lakh to withdraw my papers," Tejal further alleged.
After which, Tejal says she decided to file a police complaint and run for office. Tejal said, "After this, Deepak and I moved out with our children and stayed in an undisclosed place till January 2, 2026."
She alleged that during this entire period, attempts were made to communicate with her through family members. Tejal claims the Narvekars coerced her to withdraw her papers with a number of offers, that include cash and was offered numerous contracts for the BMC.
Rahul Narvekar rejected the allegations and maintained that he never met Tejal Pawar in his life. Rahul Narvekar told ETV Bharat, "I have never even met Tejal Pawar, the female candidate who is making these allegations against me. People resort to such tactics when they anticipate poor results. In the (Maharashtra Assembly Election) that took place a year ago, I was elected from Colaba constituency by a margin of 50,000 votes."
"I had an advantage of 14,000 votes in Ward No. 226, so I can confidently say the BJP is comfortable in all three wards. I don't need to threaten or request that anyone withdraw their nomination papers from this ward," he maintained.
Interestingly, the independent candidate Tejal's husband Deepak was earlier an office-bearer of the Shiv Sena. He made his wife contest as an independent candidate because he was denied a ticket from this Ward.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has extended support to Tejal. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant told ETV Bharat, "(Shiv Sena (UBT)) chief Uddhav Thackeray has spoken with (Mumbai) Commissioner of Police (Deven Bharti) regarding Tejal Pawar's complaint."
Earlier, on December 30, 2025 and 31, 2025, allegations had surfaced against Narvekar for coercing the local election officer to not allow a few candidates from opposition parties to submit their nominations.
In the current elections for Municipal Corporations, the ruling BJP-led alliance has been elected unopposed in over 68 constituencies, which include Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli. The opposition has accused the BJP of initiating unprecedented steps in elections for the first time in Maharashtra. They have accused ruling alliance of using intimidation, coercion, and financial tactics.
Read More
