Satara ZP Poll Row Exposes Rift In Mahayuti

Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad deputy chairperson Neelam Gorhe directed the suspension of Satara SP Tushar Doshi following allegations that police personnel manhandled and injured Shambhuraj Desai during the elections, whereas the BJP strongly opposed her ruling.

“It is a long-standing tradition of this House that the word of a member, and especially a Minister, is accepted as the truth. I am hereby directing the government to immediately suspend the Satara SP and all other officers who engaged in manhandling, causing injuries, and obstructing the democratic voting process,” Gorhe announced.

She further noted that the government should have ideally initiated an inquiry yesterday, but since it did not happen, the legislature must now step in to ensure accountability.

In the Satara ZP president’s election held on Friday, BJP’s Priya Shinde won, defeating the Shiv Sena-NCP candidate despite their majority. The BJP was accused of having poached Shiv Sena corporators in Satara and prevented two councillors from voting to secure the victory. During the polling, Shambhuraj Desai was allegedly attacked by police personnel in plain clothes.

The issue was discussed heatedly in the State Legislature on Monday. Desai said in Vidhan Parishad, “I have been in politics for the last 40 years, but never seen such misuse of power by any establishment. I was beaten by the police when I was going into the ZP building. I was bleeding. The democracy was murdered in broad daylight. The police not only manhandled us but also treated us like slaves. They dragged us when we stopped from arresting our members.”

NCP minister Makarand Patil, who was with Desai, said that the Satara police department behaved in an atrocious manner by registering false complaints against their members. “Despite being ministers, we were treated like criminals. Even an accused person cannot be prevented from voting. But here, elected members were stopped from voting in Satara district,” he alleged.

However, countering the Sena and NCP, BJP minister Jaikumar Gore, who was leading the party ‘Operation Lotus’ in Satara, opposed Doshi’s suspension.

“Before giving an order, reality should also be heard. The police are responsible for maintaining law and order. The suspension of an IPS officer without taking factual reports on the allegations against him is not right,” the minister said.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde strongly condemned the incident, calling it a “murder of democracy,” and said the matter was serious as members were allegedly prevented from casting their votes despite prior instructions to allow them to do so.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that a probe will be conducted into the incident and assured action based on the inquiry.