• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Tue, 12 Nov 2024 04:28 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Maharashtra Polls: A day after Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo and former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's bag was searched by election authorities ahead of a poll rally in Yavatmal district, party MP Sanjay Raut asked if BJP and NDA bigwigs like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, Maharshtra CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Ajit Pawar were also subjected to such searches.

"The Election Commission does its job. You check our cars, planes, and everything. If you carry out this work impartially, we have no problem. But in Maharashtra, where Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, and BJP are contesting the election, 25 crores have already reached," said Raut on Tuesday while addressing a press conference, alleging that inducements were being used to woo voters in poll-bound Maharashtra.

He added, "We also showed videos during the Lok Sabha elections of how 20-20 bags were brought via helicopters... Do you stop the convoys of Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar, Narendra Modi, and Amit Shah and check them?...the way money distribution is happening in Maharashtra, does the Election Commission not see this?"

Countering Raut's assertions, the Shiv Sena pointed out that Shinde's bags were indeed checked by election officials in Nashik during the canvassing period for the Lok Sabha election held earlier this year. Shiv Sena spokesperson Krishna Hegde told NDTV that Raut has a "habit of making wild allegations". "Shindeji did not make a fuss... didn't create an uproar like the Uddhav Thackeray camp," Hegde was quoted as saying by NDTV.

The Shiv Sena leader further said, "I don't know why they are making a fuss. If you have nothing to hide... why protest?" In a video of the bag-checking episode posted by Shiv Sena (UBT) on social media, Uddhav can be heard asking poll officials if they had similarly inspected the luggage of senior NDA leaders like CM Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. He is also heard asking the officials if they would search PM Modi or Shah's bags.

Replying to the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief's questions, one of the officials says the leaders he named are yet to visit the region. To this, Uddhav told the officials they should send him a video recording whenever PM Modi and Shah's bags are checked by them. The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23.

(With inputs from agencies)