Nashik/Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), May 13 The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders claimed that large amounts of cash were reportedly being transferred to and fro, ostensibly to buy votes in the Lok Sabha elections, even as anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare frowned at the developments while the MahaYuti flatly dismissed the allegations, here on Monday.
Crying foul, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit R. Pawar and Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar who is contesting from Pune, hurled the allegations targeting the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party in Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik Lok Sabha constituencies.
Posting a purported video of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde alighting from a helicopter in Nashik with two security personnel lugging at least two heavy bags, Raut demanded to know why the CM travelled with such bulky luggage for just a two-hour-long poll campaign trip.
Rohit R. Pawar posted another supposed video showing bundles of cash lying on a road in the Ahmednagar LS constituency and claimed that it contained ‘prasad’ for disbursing among the voters.
“Today, a packet arrived here in the name of everyone called ‘Raja’ with the ‘prasad’ and a plea by the guardian minister to vote for his party. The irony is that in many villages, the local refused to accept the ‘prasad’ and in others, the village elders siphoned off half the ‘prasad’,” said Rohit R. Pawar in a jibe at the BJP’s LS candidate from Ahmednagar Dr Sujay R. Vikhe-Patil, who is battling against NCP (SP)’s challenger Nilesh D. Lanke.
Dhangekar alleged that last night in Pune, a large amount of cash was distributed during the weekend to lure the voters in the Sahakar Nagar slums in his constituency reportedly supporters of the ruling MahaYuti.
Early on Monday, he and hundreds of MVA activists had gathered to lodge a police complaint which was not accepted ostensibly due to lack of evidence.
Raut claimed that as per his information, the bags hauled by the CM’s security personnel may have been filled with “around Rs 12-13 crore” and demanded a statement from the government.
Rohit R. Pawar said more complaints of ‘prasad’ packets are pouring in and alleged that there are reports of more than Rs 2,000 crore cash being splurged by the ruling side to get votes and buy out leaders of opposition parties.
Responding to the developments, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare appeared sad and termed it as regretful besides posing a ‘threat to the survival of democracy’.
“If money power enters into the election arena in this way then democracy will be finished, only autocracy will remain,” he warned, after casting his vote in the Ahmednagar LS constituency.
On his part, Ahmednagar BJP candidate Dr Sujay Vike-Patil hit back saying it was a planned operation to create confusion in the minds of voters.
He also referred to an incident in the 2019 LS elections when some employees of the Rohit R. Pawar-headed Baramati Agro Co. were caught distributing cash for votes and a case was registered in the matter.
State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule dismissed the MVA’s contentions saying, “they are staring at defeat in the allegations and hence it is not surprising that they are levelling such baseless charges”.
Shiv Sena's Sanjay Shirsat also rubbished the MVA allegations and said that this is an attempt to divert attention from the impending defeat of the Opposition parties.
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