Leaders of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi raised concerns on Monday over alleged cash transfers aimed at influencing the Lok Sabha elections, prompting anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare to express dismay while the MahaYuti coalition dismissed the accusations.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit R. Pawar, and Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar, running for office in Pune, Ahmednagar, and Nashik Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively, alleged that significant sums of money were being circulated within the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party.
Raut, sharing a purported video of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde disembarking from a helicopter in Nashik with two security personnel carrying bulky bags, questioned the necessity of such luggage for a brief campaign trip.
Pawar posted another video purportedly showing cash bundles on a road in Ahmednagar, claiming it was intended as 'prasad' for voters.
"In many villages, locals refused to accept the 'prasad' while in others, elders took a portion," Pawar said, taking a dig at BJP's LS candidate Dr. Sujay R. Vikhe-Patil in Ahmednagar.
Dhangekar alleged that a large cash amount was distributed in Pune's Sahakar Nagar slums, purportedly to sway voters, but police declined to accept a complaint citing a lack of evidence.
Raut estimated the bags carried by the CM's security personnel may have contained "around Rs 12–13 crore" and demanded government clarification.
Pawar claimed more complaints of 'prasad' packets were received, alleging over Rs 2,000 crore was spent by the ruling side to secure votes and buy opposition leaders.
Anna Hazare expressed concern, warning that if money dictates elections, democracy is at risk, after casting her vote in Ahmednagar.
Ahmednagar BJP candidate Dr. Sujay Vike-Patil dismissed the allegations as an attempt to confuse voters, referencing a 2019 incident involving employees of Baramati Agro Co., headed by Rohit R. Pawar, caught distributing cash for votes.
State BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Shirsat refuted the MVA's claims, attributing them to fear of defeat.
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