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Amit Shah says EC inspected his chopper in Maharashtra: ‘BJP believes in fair polls’
Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said his helicopter was checked by Election Commission officials in Maharashtra's Hingoli.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday said his helicopter was checked by the Election Commission officials in Maharashtra's Hingoli.
“Today, during my election campaign in Hingoli Assembly constituency of Maharashtra, my helicopter was inspected by Election Commission officials. BJP believes in fair elections and healthy election system and follows all the rules made by the Honourable Election Commission,” Shah said in an X post.
“We all must contribute to a healthy election system and perform our duties in keeping India as the strongest democracy in the world,” Shah added.
Amit Shah's revelation comes amid the controversy after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray expressed anger over checking of his bags.
Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP) leader Supriya Sule also condemned the incident and called it "dirty politics."
Supriya Sule said Thackeray's bags were checked twice, while the bags of politicians in power were not checked like this.
Eknath Shinde's bag checked
On Wednesday, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's luggage was checked at Palghar Police ground helipad as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Eknath Shinde arrived in Palghar for an Assembly election campaign where ECI officials, as a security precaution, checked CM's bags and helicopter after it landed.
While announcing the assembly election dates, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that enforcement agencies have been directed to check the helicopters of all leaders to ensure a level playing field.
This move aims to prevent any undue influence or misuse of power during the elections and to maintain fairness and transparency in the electoral process.
The campaigning has intensified for the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, with both the ruling Mahayuti and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) making efforts to woo the electorate.
The counting of votes will take place on November 23.
