The bags of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge were checked by the Election Commission as his helicopter landed in Nashik on Thursday. The Congress chief is campaigning in the state for upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections.
Notably, Uddhav Thackeray’s bag was checked again on Wednesday in Shrigonda, Ahmednagar. This is third time that that the Sena leader’s bag has been checked by the poll body officials.
On Wednesday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s bags were checked by poll personnel while he was onboard a helicopter to travel for poll campaign, and the NCP leader said such measures are needed to ensure free and fair elections. The visuals posted on Pawar’s X handle on Wednesday show an official checking his bags and finding a packet of ‘chaklis’ and a box containing ‘ladoos’ (snacks) while the deputy CM was onboard a helicopter.
Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra BJP also posted a video on X showing checking of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis‘ bags, and said merely holding the Constitution for “show” is not enough and one must also follow the constitutional system.
The videos of the two leaders were posted to apparently blunt Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray’s claims of being selectively targeted by poll authorities who checked his bags in the last two days. Thackeray had claimed his bags were inspected by the election authorities after he arrived in Latur and Yavatmal districts in the last two days to campaign for the November 20 state assembly elections. The Sena (UBT) leader had also asked if the same law would be applied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the ruling alliance during their campaign.