Violence mars local body elections in Maharashtra

A police officer said that clashes between political workers took place at Mahad in Raigad district, Gevrai in Beed, Muktai Nagar in Jalgaon, Bhor in Pune, Mhaswad in Satara, Jat in Sangli, Hingoli, Buldhana, Dahanu in Thane and Shahada in Nandurbar district.

Mumbai: Violence was reported from multiple places during the first phase of local body elections in Maharashtra on Tuesday with even the supporters of the ruling allies BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena coming to blows in some places, police said.

Among others, a case was registered against Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar for entering the polling booth in violation of rules in Hingoli city.

As many as 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats went to polls on Tuesday.

There were clashes as local leaders accused their rivals of distributing cash to voters and facilitating bogus voting.

While the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP are allies at the state level, their candidates or panels fought against each other in many places and even formed alliances with Opposition parties.

Clashes between political workers took place at Mahad in Raigad district, Gevrai in Beed, Muktai Nagar in Jalgaon, Bhor in Pune, Mhaswad in Satara, Jat in Sangli, Hingoli, Buldhana, Dahanu in Thane and Shahada in Nandurbar district, a police official said.

In Mahad, supporters of Vikas Gogawale, son of Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale, and NCP's Sushant Jabre clashed in Nave Nagar area, he said. A person also brandished a firearm.

In Gevrai in Beed district, an altercation took place between two groups, leading to stone pelting outside the residence of a BJP leader, the official said. Stone pelting took place and vehicles were vandalised in Shahu Nagar, forcing the police to use lathi-charge to disperse the mob.

In Buldhana, police caught two bogus voters.

Election officials launched a probe after a video purportedly showed Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar entering a polling booth while a woman was casting her vote in Hingoli. The MLA was seen entering the polling booth, peeking into the enclosure and speaking to her.

An altercation took place between BJP workers and police at Jat in Sangli district.

At least four EVMs malfunctioned in Nandurbar district, leading to long queues outside polling booths. Complaints of EVM malfunctioning were also reported at Amaravati, Badlapur, Nanded, Jalgaon, Yavatmal, Bhokardan and Akluj, the official said.

A voter smashed an EVM at Gadchandur in Chandrapur district, he said.

A worker of the Shiv Sena led by deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was caught by some people while allegedly distributing money and handed over to police at Yeola in Nashik district.