An FIR has been registered against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Manda Mhatre for violating the model code of conduct during her speech in Koparkhairane on Sunday, in which she allegedly told the crowd to vote twice in the Lok Sabha elections.
Ms. Mhatre was campaigning for Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Vichare at Shetkari Samaj Hall at Sector 4 in Koparkhairane. She urged the crowd to first cast their votes in Satara on April 23 for BJP candidate Narendra Patil and in Thane on April 29 for Mr. Vichare, the sitting MP.
Mr. Patil, a mathadi leader, is well-known among the mathadi workers of Navi Mumbai, many of whom were at Sunday’s campaign event. Most of these workers hail from Satara.
Ms. Mhatre, the MLA from Belapur, was being videographed by a squad assigned by the Election Commission (EC) to monitor campaigns. Sunil More, senior clerk and tax assessor of E Ward, Koparkhairane, who heads the squad, filed a complaint against her with the Koparkhairane police late on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I, Sudhakar Pathare, said, “As per the provisions in the Indian Penal Code, we have registered the case. After verifying the video and finding enough evidence, we will file a charge sheet and the court will take action.”
Ms. Mhatre, meanwhile, said she hadn’t received any notice from the EC. “All I said was that voting is important and everyone should vote, may it be in Satara or here. In many families here, one person will be in the voting list in Satara while their spouse or child are voters in Thane. As the summer holidays are going on, once these families go to their home town, they don’t come back till the holidays are over. Hence, I insisted that after casting votes there, they should come back to vote here as well. That doesn’t mean that a person has to rub off the ink and vote again. My statement has been blown out of proportion,” the MLA said.