Verbal clash among city leaders after violent municipal campaign

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A violent municipal election incident triggered a verbal war among senior city leaders. During former MP Imtiaz Jaleel’s AIMIM rally in Baijipura, some youths allegedly showed black flags and tried to block his vehicle. Jaleel accused the attack of being orchestrated by minister Atul Save and guardian minister Sanjay Shirsath’s supporters and handed over CCTV footage to the police.

Shirsath criticized Jaleel, claiming his own workers were angry over ticket sales for money and calling him a “serial liar” whose arrogance had been checked. Save termed the incident a stunt out of fear of defeat, noting disgruntled members of Jaleel’s party opposed him due to financial dealings in ticket distribution. Congress candidate Kaleem Qureshi also alleged Jaleel staged the attack to gain sympathy. Police deployed tight security in the area following the incident.

Key statements:

• Sanjay Shirsath: “Workers attacked him due to ticket sales; Jaleel’s arrogance is now exposed.”

• Atul Save: “Seeing defeat, Jaleel made baseless allegations; his own party cornered him.”

• Imtiaz Jaleel: “The attack was by Shirsath and Save’s supporters; we will not stay silent.”