A Commonwealth Court judge has rejected a petition to disqualify Neil Makhija from the Democratic primary for the 122nd Legislative District, which includes much of Carbon County.

Makhija, of Jim Thorpe, plans to challenge incumbent state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, in November's general election.Two Carbon County residents filed a petition seeking to have Makhija removed from the ballot arguing Makhija didn't meet residency requirements for the seat. A hearing on the petition took place last week.On Thursday, Commonwealth Court Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt rejected the petition, placing Makhija back on the ballot for now.While Makhija is running unopposed in the primary, the petition would have made it significantly more difficult for him to challenge Heffley in the fall had it gone through.Heffley was elected to the seat in 2010.Bryan Price, of Jim Thorpe, and Michael Spairana Jr., of Palmerton, filed the petition late last month alleging that Makhija did not meet the residency requirements to run for the seat.While the two petitioners are Carbon County Democrats, they were represented by Philadelphia lawyer Lawrence Tabas, the legal counsel for the Pennsylvania House Republican Campaign Committee.The petitioners presented records showing that Makhija had registered to vote in Massachusetts during his time as a student at Harvard Law School. Makhija attended the school using a scholarship open only to Carbon County residents.Both Makhija and Heffley blamed their opponents' high-powered lawyers for the challenge. Makhija cited Tabas' involvement, and Heffley said that Makhija was represented by the lawyer who represents Bill and Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania.Makhija said in a news release that the petition was a strategic move by Heffley's campaign, and noted that the two democratic petitioners didn't even show up for."I've always been a Carbon County boy, and my family has a record of service to this community. This lawsuit was a desperate attempt by Harrisburg politicians who haven't passed a budget to hold onto their jobs," the release said.The petitioners, Price and Spairana, were unavailable for comment Friday morning.Heffley, reached by phone at his district office, denied any involvement in the ballot challenge. He said he reviewed the evidence in the case and felt that the judge came to the wrong decision."I was somewhat baffled by the judge's decision. It was clearly evident he didn't meet the requirement," he said."We have seen some terrible decisions from courts across the commonwealth recently, and this is another one."Carbon County Democratic Committee Chairman Billy O'Gurek Jr. said the court made the right decision to reject the petition."The case was frivolous. We didn't think it would hold up, and we're glad the commonwealth agreed," he said.He said that decision means that Makhija will have a chance to debate Heffley directly on the issues this fall.