Before voting, party workers monitor rivals to prevent poll violations

With one day left for polling on Wednesday, party workers across Pune kept a close watch on rival groups amid allegations of inducements to voters

Pune: With one day left for polling on Wednesday, party workers across Pune kept a close watch on rival groups amid allegations of inducements to voters.

With one day left for polling on Wednesday, party workers across Pune kept a close watch on rival groups amid allegations of inducements to voters. (MAHENDRA KOLHE/HT)

In the Katraj area, Shiv Sena workers allegedly caught Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers and accused them of distributing gifts. Shiv Sena leader Vasant More claimed that his party’s workers found opposition activists offering gifts to voters. “We caught them red-handed and objected to it,” he said.

Separately, tensions flared between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and NCP workers in the Taljai slum area. However, police said no formal complaint was registered in connection with the incident.

Responding to the allegations, NCP leader Nitin Kadam said his party’s workers were also monitoring the situation. “Our workers are keeping a watch to see whether opposition party workers are distributing money,” he said.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said NCP had completed its campaign and was hopeful of a positive outcome. “We conducted an extensive campaign and are confident of good results. Now we need to ensure that no irregularities take place after the campaign period has ended,” he said.

Several political leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, alleged that heavy spending marked the election. “In this election, candidates from all parties spent large sums of money. Even many of the rally participants were paid workers,” one leader claimed.