Maharashtra Assembly Polls 2024: MVA slams Eknath Shinde as Rs 5 crore cash seized in Pune

Mumbai: Hours after Rs five crore cash was seized from a car in the Pune district when the model code was in force in Maharashtra, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi slammed the ruling Eknath Shinde-led Maha Yuti government and accused it of influencing polls by using money. 

The car is linked to Shiv Sena MLA Shahjibapu Patil, alleged Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut. 

Patil, who is an MLA from Sangola in Solapur district, has denied the charge.

“I myself saw the news on the cash seizure on TV last night. My name was not mentioned anywhere. I have no connection with this car. Thousands of MY workers are present in that taluka. But I have no idea about whose car it is,” said Patil. 

During the June-July 2022 rebellion, Patil had left Uddhav Thackeray to side with Eknath Shinde. 

MVA allies - Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) - have asked what the Election Commission of India was doing. 

The Pune Rural Police on Monday evening seized the cash from a SUV on the Khed-Shivapur plaza on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway during a nakabandi.

Raut linked the cash seized to Patil and claimed that while Rs 5 crore was confiscated, another vehicle carrying Rs 10 crore was let off by the police.

The Rajya Sabha member further claimed Rs 50 crore was being given to 150 MLAs of the ruling party.

"This is an example of how money is being distributed by the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers  Devendra Fadnavis and  Ajit Pawar,” he alleged. 

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, the grandnephew of Sharad Pawar and nephew of Supriya Sule slammed the ruling side. "There were six cars with Rs 30-35 crore being transported from Mumbai to Sangola,” he said, adding that “Gujarat-style money and muscle power” would not be accepted by the people of Maharashtra.

State Congress general secretary Atul Londhe said Rs 5 crore cash was seized from the car of a MLA close to Shinde-faction during nakabandi.  “I hear that this is the first installment

Now every MLA of the ruling party will get two more such installments,” he said.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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