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The bags and helicopter of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole were checked by the Election Commission on Thursday.
The bags of the Congress chief were checked by the poll body officials as his helicopter landed in Nashik. Meanwhile, the Election Commission officials check the bags of Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar. Maharashtra Congress President Patole's helicopter and bags were checked by an election official at Tiroda helipad while Patole was going to campaign for an NCP-SCP candidate in the Goregaon Assembly constituency. Earlier on Wednesday, the bags and helicopter of Mahayuti leaders, including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were also checked as part of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This development comes after Uddhav Thackeray expressed anger over the checking of his bags and asked whether the ECI officials checked the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar. However, sources in the Election Commission clarified that enforcement agencies are strictly following SOPs to maintain a level playing field. Earlier, Thane Police seized around Rs 2.5 crore in cash from a rowhouse in Sector 16 of Nerul in Navi Mumbai on Monday, amid the model code of conduct in place for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections. The cash was seized in a joint operation by the Election Commission and Thane Police. The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20, with votes for all 288 constituencies to be counted on November 23. (ANI)
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