Allegations of violence, cash distribution fly high on eve of polling day

The police have booked four unidentified individuals for an alleged attack on Chandrakant Tingre, the husband of former corporator Surekha Tingre from Wadgaonsheri constituency, near Dhanori in Pune.

The incident was reported near Dhanori Jakat Naka area at around 3:45 pm on Tuesday. Tingre, who sustained head injury, was rushed to a private hospital.

Last week, Chandrakant had joined the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and offered support to its Wadgaonsheri candidate Bapu Pathare.

On the day of the attack, Chandrakant, along with Sachin Gaikwad, driver of his car, parked the vehicle near a Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) building as they wanted to visit the office. After Chandrakant stepped out of the car, three to four individuals with face covered on motorcycle approached and threw bricks and cement blocks at him. One of the blocks hit Chandrakant on the head, causing severe bleeding.

A police team, including senior officers, rushed to the spot and the process to register a case is going on.

Meanwhile, in the Parvati constituency, there have been allegations of money distribution by workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bibvewadi area. Ashwini Kadam, a poll candidate from the area, lodged a complaint with the Bibvewadi Police Station. As of now, no action has been taken. This has fuelled political tensions, as similar reports of alleged malpractice are surfacing from other constituencies also. In some cases, the police have issued notices to party workers, but critics argue that these actions lack substance, with little to no follow-up.

In response to these incidents, a delegation from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), including prominent leaders such as Vandana Chavan, Arvind Shinde, Ankush Kakade and others, met with the Pune police commissioner on Tuesday. They have demanded immediate and strict action to address these issues. The delegation also called for enhanced security measures across all constituencies until the completion of voting on Wednesday to ensure free and fair elections.

In western Maharashtra, Jan Surajya Shakti’s Karveer assembly constituency candidate Santaji Ghorpade was attacked by a group of five to six individuals near Manvad village in Kolhapur district on Sunday night.

Poll body searches automobiles outlet of Yugendra’s father

Ahead of the high-stakes Maharashtra assembly elections, a flying squad of the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted a search at the automobile showroom of Yugendra Pawar’s father, Shrinivas Pawar, in Baramati town late Monday night. Yugendra is the candidate for the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) and is contesting against his uncle, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, from the Baramati assembly seat in Pune district.

The outlet, Sharayu Motors, belongs to Shrinivas, the younger brother of Ajit. Officials confirmed that the search was prompted by a complaint, but found nothing suspicious.

Pune collector Suhas Divase verified that the action was part of a routine election protocol. “Following a complaint, the flying squad inspected the showroom. However, no irregularities were detected,” he said.

Election officer Vaibhav Navadkar said, “Police carried out the verification of complaint and visited the firm, but the team has not found anything.”

Shrinivas, father of Yugendra who is contesting against uncle Ajit, said, “Last night, some police officers visited the showroom when it was closed. Police asked us that they want to do inspection. Our employees allowed them, but they found nothing. This shows that those with power can do anything.”

Two days earlier, the office of Kiran Gujar, Ajit’s poll campaign incharge, was also inspected by authorities after receiving a similar complaint.

Responding to the incident, Yugendra said, “We are law-abiding citizens, but if they are giving so much attention to us, we are really thankful to them.” He said that a team of 10 to 13 police and other officials had carried out the search.

(With agency inputs)