Maharashtra elections 2024: Checking of bags non-issue, Uddhav Thackeray seeking votes by whining, says Devendra Fadnavis

Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic

Ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra elections 2024, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray was trying to divert the attention by needlessly protesting against the checking of his bags by poll officials and was "seeking votes by whining", reported news agency PTI.

What is wrong with checking of bags? the senior BJP leader wondered.

Thackeray's frustration was showing, Fadnavis said on Tuesday while campaigning for the ruling Mahayuti's candidate Sulabha Ganpat Gaikwad in Kalyan East in Thane district ahead of the Maharashtra elections 2024.

"What is wrong with checking bags? We had our bags checked during campaigning, and there was no need for this level of frustration," the deputy CM said, adding that election officials followed the same procedures with his campaign team too, reported PTI.

Lacking pressing topics, Thackeray is now "seeking votes by whining", he said, reported PTI.

For the second consecutive day, Thackeray claimed his bags were inspected by election authorities on Tuesday after he arrived in Latur district to campaign.

The former chief minister's party posted a video of the incident on a social media platform.

Fadnavis, meanwhile, also attacked the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, pointing out that some of its allies moved the high court against the Ladki Bahin Yojana for providing financial assistance to women.

"When Uddhav Thackeray's government was in power, Maharashtra's industrial sector was lagging behind. But now, under our government, Maharashtra has outpaced Karnataka and Gujarat, securing 52 per cent of the total industrial investment in the country this year," he said, reported PTI.

To counter Uddhav Thackeray, BJP posts video showing checking of Devendra Fadnavis' bags

The Maharashtra BJP on Wednesday posted a video on X showing checking of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' bags, and said merely holding the Constitution for "show" is not enough and one must also follow the constitutional system.

Some leaders have the habit of creating "drama", the BJP said in the post, which comes after former CM Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) shared videos online over the last two days of his bags being checked by poll authorities.

In the last two days, Thackeray claimed his bags were inspected by the election authorities after he arrived in Latur and Yavatmal districts to campaign for the Maharashtra elections 2024.

Thackeray had also asked if the same law would be applied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the ruling alliance during their campaign.

On Wednesday, the state BJP unit posted a footage on its social media handle X, showing Fadnavis' bags being checked by security personnel at Kolhapur airport on November 5.
The ruling party in the post along with the video said, "Let it be, some leaders just have a habit of creating drama."

(With inputs from PTI)