India, Jan. 3 -- The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has raised serious concerns over the actions of returning officers in some wards, claiming they favoured BJP and Shiv Sena candidates. The NCP, a partner of the BJP and Sena in the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the state, is not contesting the civic polls with its state-level allies.

Former minister Nawab Malik, who heads the election campaign of the NCP for the civic elections, on Friday cited three instances where returning officers allegedly accepted nomination forms from BJP and Sena candidates in violation of the rules.

In one instance, he claimed, the BJP candidate from ward 151 did not submit a caste validity certificate. The one he submitted was that of his father, and that too...