Dhangekar alleged that workers of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are being threatened by the police. (Express file photo by Arul Horizon) The Congress candidate for the Kasba bypolls, Ravindra Dhangekar, Saturday alleged that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance is using money and muscle power to win the polls and sat on a hunger strike a day before the scheduled polling on Sunday.
Dhangekar and other senior Congress leaders of the city alleged that workers of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are being threatened by the police while those belonging to the BJP are being “given protection while they distribute money to the voters”.
He, however, ended his hunger strike later in the day after senior officers from Pune Police met him and the other agitators and promised an investigation into the allegations levelled by him.
He added, “The BJP is misusing power. They violated the election code as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, ministers Girish Mahajan and Chandrakant Patil continued campaigning even after 5 pm Friday. The election commission and the police did not register any complaint against them for violation of the election code.”
Dhangekar, who sat on a hunger strike outside Kasba Ganpati temple, said the BJP ministers are distributing money to woo voters and are using goons to threaten people to vote for the BJP candidate. “This is against democracy and against the Constitution. The BJP cannot misuse power during an election,” Dhangekar said.
Meanwhile, the BJP accused Congress of making false allegations after sensing a defeat. City BJP chief Jagdish Mulik said, “The Congress candidate is engaging in a stunt to gain publicity. We will file a complaint against him before the Election Commission.”
“It is an insult of the voters of Kasba when the Congress candidate says they are being given money,” he added.
Dhangekar ended his hunger strike after senior officers from Pune Police met him and other agitators and promised an investigation in the allegations levelled by him.