A routine check of Uddhav Thackeray‘s luggage in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal Monday afternoon – shortly after the ex-Chief Minister arrived to address a rally before next week’s Assembly election – has triggered a row Tuesday between his Shiva Sena faction and the group led by Eknath Shinde.

Taking up arms for his party this morning, Thackeray Sena strongman Sanjay Raut demanded to know if bags belonging to ruling party bigwigs – Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – were similarly checked when they were campaigning.

The Shinde Sena hit back swiftly; party spokesperson Krishna Hegde told NDTV Mr Raut has a “habit of making wild allegations” and pointed out Mr Shinde’s bags had, in fact, been checked. This was in Nashik, when the Chief Minister was campaigning for the April-June general election. “Shindeji did not make a fuss… didn’t create an uproar like the Uddhav Thackeray camp,” Mr Hegde declared.

There is no bias in the Election Commission’s actions, Mr Hedge insisted. “I don’t know why they are making this fuss. If you have nothing to hide… then why protest?”

Earlier Mr Raut told reporters, “Our luggage, helicopter, private jet, cars… everything is checked. They search our homes also… but we don’t have a problem if it is done impartially. But, where Eknath Shinde and (Deputy Chief Ministers) Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis are contesting, Rs 25 crores have already reached…” the Sena (UBT) leader said, alleging that cash is being exchanged for votes.

“Our luggage is checked but are the helicopters and cars of Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah also checked? Are there only clothes in their bags? Are (election) observers not able to see the money distribution going on in Maharashtra?”

डॉ. बाबासाहेबांनी लिहिलेल्या संविधानात सगळ्यांना समान न्याय हे आम्ही मानतोच.पण यंत्रणांना हाताशी धरुन लोकशाहीला पायदळी तुडवून हुकुमत गाजविणाऱ्या दिल्लीश्वरांनी मात्र त्या संविधानाचा सगळ्याच पातळ्यांवर अवमान करायचा ठरवलं आहे.
आज उद्धवसाहेबांच्या सामानाची वणी येथे काही… pic.twitter.com/XyM53sKOsy

— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) November 11, 2024

Mr Raut also referred to the row over a check of Mr Modi’s helicopter in April 2019; the official in question was suspended but, amid outrage from the opposition, the suspension was revoked.

A video of the officer caught in the political crossfire over the search of Mr Thackeray’s bag was shared on X by the party. The 150-second video shows the official being grilled by Mr Thackeray, who asks him his name and then says, “I won’t stop you… you are following your responsibility.”

“But have you searched the bags of Devendra Fadnavis, Narendra Modi, or Amit Shah?” Mr Thackeray asks, to which the officer says, “No, sir.” He then briefly checks a brown duffle and a blue icebox.

The furore over checking of bags plays out during every election, federal or state, with each party or alliance accusing the other of transporting vast amounts of cash to buy votes. The search of Mr Shinde’s bags in May was reportedly prompted by claims money was being transported.

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Officials said they found “nothing objectionable” in Mr Shinde’s bags.

Voting for Maharashtra’s 288 Assembly seats will be held on November 20, with results due three days later. Mr Thackeray’s Sena group is allied with the Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party against the BJP and the Sena and NCP factions led by Mr Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

With input from agencies

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The Congress and BJP fight against each other across the country, but have a “strange love story” in Telangana, former state minister and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao told NDTV today. Popularly known as KTR, Mr Rao is the son of former Chief Minister and BRS supremo K Chandrashekar Rao. He is on a visit to Delhi, during which he met Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and flagged alleged corruption involving Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy in the implementation of AMRUT scheme in the state.

AMRUT — Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) — focuses on development of basic infrastructure in selected cities in the sectors of water supply; sewerage, drainage, green spaces and parks and non-motorised transport.

KTR has alleged that the Congress government was facilitating corruption in AMRUT tenders to benefit a company linked to Revanth Reddy’s brother-in-law Sujan Reddy. He has said the company, Sodha Constructions, recorded a meagre profit in the years before the Congress came to power in Telangana and lacks the credentials to handle such large projects. This, he said, raises questions about the tender process.

Speaking to NDTV, the BRS leader said he hoped that the Centre would take action. “This company lacks necessary qualifications. This is the biggest example of crony capitalism. BJP and Congress fight against each other, but in Telangana i see Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani. The BJP sits quietly against the Congress government in Telangana,” he said. While the Congress holds 76 seats in the 119-member Telangana Assembly, the BRS is the main Opposition with 28 MLAs. The BJP holds eight seats in the House. Earlier, Revanth Reddy brother-in-law had sued KTR for defamation over his social media posts alleging corruption in the tender process.

Telangana Revenue Minister said the BRS leader had travelled to Delhi to seek the help of “bigwigs”. He also questioned if Mr Rao was in Delhi to “plead” with Union ministers to withdraw charges against him in the Formula-E race funds transfer case. The minister accused KTR of diverting Rs 55 crore to a Formula-E racing company without the cabinet’s approval. The matter is now being probed by the state police’s anti-corruption bureau.

Ever since the Congress unseated the BRS to form the government in Telangana last year, multiple issues have triggered heated exchanges between KTR and Revanth Reddy. Many of these exchanges have also escalated to personal attacks, with KTR referring to Mr Reddy as a “Cheap Minister” and the Congress leader saying that KTR is “day-dreaming” that his party will return to power.

Sayed Azeempeer Khadri, former Shiggaon MLA, sparked controversy with his remarks at a Congress rally. He claimed Ambedkar initially intended to convert to Islam and speculated that the Dalit community would have followed.