The first phase of polling for 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra on Tuesday was marred by violence, clashes and allegations of malpractice across several districts, police said.
Despite the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP being allies at the state level, their workers fought each other in multiple places, with some local units even tying up with Opposition parties.
Violent incidents were reported from Mahad (Raigad), Gevrai (Beed), Muktai Nagar (Jalgaon), Bhor (Pune), Mhaswad (Satara), Jat (Sangli), Hingoli, Buldhana, Dahanu (Thane) and Shahada (Nandurbar).
In Mahad, supporters of Vikas Gogawale, son of Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale and NCP’s Sushant Jabre clashed in the Nave Nagar area, where one person was seen brandishing a firearm.
Stone pelting erupted in Gevrai, with vehicles vandalised near a BJP leader’s residence, prompting police to resort to lathi-charge. Two bogus voters were detained in Buldhana.
A major controversy surfaced in Hingoli after a video showed Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar entering a polling booth, looking into the voting compartment as a woman cast her ballot and speaking to her. A case has been registered and officials have launched a probe. BJP workers and police also faced off in Jat, Sangli.
Technical issues added to voters’ frustration, with at least four EVMs failing in Nandurbar and similar complaints emerging from Amaravati, Badlapur, Nanded, Jalgaon, Yavatmal, Bhokardan and Akluj. In Chandrapur’s Gadchandur, a voter smashed an EVM.
In Yeola, Nashik district, locals caught a worker of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena allegedly distributing money and handed him over to the police.
Authorities said they were investigating multiple incidents even as polling continued amid heavy security.
(With inputs from PTI)