The topic of poll officials checking the bags of politicians became important after Uddhav Thackeray, the head of Shiv Sena (UBT), shared a video of his luggage being searched.
On Sunday morning, poll officials checked the bags of Sharad Pawar, the leader of NCP (SP), at Baramati helipad in Pune, Maharashtra. He was heading to a rally in Solapur, as mentioned by his associate.
The state has put a code of conduct in place for upcoming assembly elections on November 20. Pawar’s associate confirmed that after the check, he got on the helicopter and left for the rally.
Just a day earlier, poll authorities checked the bag of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in Amravati district while he arrived for a rally. This has raised questions regarding the fairness of the checks.
Yashomati Thakur, a former state minister and Congress MLA, criticized the poll officials. She wondered why they did not check the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, or Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Thackeray’s video sparked discussions about why only some politicians were being checked. He also questioned if election officials had inspected the bags of top leaders like the chief minister and deputy chief ministers.
In recent days, videos have appeared showing the bags of Amit Shah, Chief Minister Shinde, and his deputy ministers being checked by poll officials.
Amit Shah responded on social media, stating that the BJP supports fair elections and follows all necessary rules. The ongoing checks of politicians’ bags have become a hot topic in the electoral debate.
As the election date approaches, the scrutiny of politicians has raised concerns about equal treatment. Many are watching to see how these checks will affect the political landscape in Maharashtra.