Allegations of cash distribution have surfaced ahead of today's Maharashtra local body elections, sparking friction between political parties. The first phase of the civic polls, covering 246 municipal councils and 42 nagar panchayats, is scheduled for today, December 2, 2025.
Shiv Sena legislator Nilesh Rane has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to distribute cash to influence voters. Rane specifically alleged that Ravindra Chavan, the Maharashtra BJP chief, facilitated the distribution of money during a visit to the Sindhudurg district, targeting areas like Kankavali Municipal Council and Malvan Nagar Panchayat. These urban local bodies are among those participating in the first phase of voting. Nilesh Rane claimed to have conducted a "sting operation" at the residence of BJP worker Vijay Kenawadekar in Kankavali, alleging the storage of cash intended to induce voters. He claimed that the BJP was distributing ₹25,000 per vote. Videos of the incident were shared on social media, and Rane approached the police to register a First Information Report (FIR).
Election officials and police investigated Kenawadekar's residence, with Kenawadekar asserting that the cash was for legitimate business purposes. The BJP has denied the allegations, with Chavan dismissing them as "wild claims" made by the Shiv Sena because it was losing ground. Another BJP minister, Ashish Shelar, also dismissed the charges as baseless. Chavan emphasized his intent to preserve the Mahayuti alliance until the first phase of local body elections. Senior BJP leader and revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said it was not right to enter someone's bedroom and call it a sting operation.
In a separate incident in Badlapur, tensions rose between Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) allies after a Shiv Sena candidate, Tukaram Mhatre, accused his NCP rival, Prabhakar Patil, of distributing cash to voters. Shiv Sena activists reportedly caught NCP workers distributing cash-filled envelopes in the Shantinagar locality. The Sena workers claimed that each envelope contained around ₹3,000, allegedly meant to influence voters. Following the confrontation, heated arguments broke out between the workers of the two parties. Election officials and local police arrived and brought the situation under control, and have begun an investigation into the matter. Patil refuted the allegations, calling them a conspiracy to defame him.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) has also accused the ruling Mahayuti coalition partners, including the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, of spending an estimated ₹1,000-1,200 crore during the ongoing local body elections in Maharashtra. The party's mouthpiece, 'Saamana', alleged that the state's political system is trapped in a "money for power, and power from money again" cycle and accused the ruling alliance partners of attempting to win municipal elections by pouring massive amounts of money into campaigns. The editorial demanded the immediate sacking of Shiv Sena Minister Gulabrao Patil from the cabinet, referencing a remark attributed to him about "Lakshmi" coming on the night before the election.
