BJP-Shiv Sena (UBT) clash in Nashik over alleged vote buying; Police intervene

Workers of the BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) clashed in Nashik on Friday over allegations of money sharing during the campaign for the November 20 Assembly elections in Maharashtra.

Both groups approached police, officials said.

The row started at 5 pm at Hanuman Chowk when former BJP corporator Mukesh Shahane and his supporters arrested some persons and accused them of distributing money while giving voter slips to people.

Commissioner Sandeep Karnik defuses the situation

Shahane alleged that the group attacked one of his friends with a sharp weapon and also brandished a pistol.

Later, supporters of Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Sudhakar Badgujar from Nashik West seat arrived at the spot and clashed with BJP workers. The BJP candidate from the seat is MLA Seema Hiray.

Officials said both groups reached Ambad police station and Commissioner Sandeep Karnik also arrived there to defuse the situation.

Senior Maharashtra BJP leader and former state minister Pankaja Munde also reached the police station to interact with officials.

“Such an incident in Nashik, even when a woman is contesting, is highly condemnable. I asked the police to register an attempted murder. It is wrong for outside people to intervene. One of our workers was attacked. Munde said.

She refuted allegations that such incidents showed the failure of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds the housing portfolio in the Eknath Shinde government.

“There is a model code of conduct for parliamentary elections. It is wrong to call this the failure of the Home Minister,” she alleged.

Badgujar also asked for an investigation into the collision.