Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar on Tuesday condemned incidents of violence during Maharashtra local body elections, saying that such behaviour has no place in a democracy, reported the PTI.
In a post on X, Ajit Pawar described elections as a “sacred process” and stressed that every voter must be able to cast their vote without fear. He urged all parties, including members of the ruling coalition, to maintain discipline and honour the principle of “alliance dharma.”
“Any attempt to disturb peace or influence voters through force is against the Constitution and Maharashtra’s values. Such behaviour will not be tolerated,” Pawar added.
Some incidents of violence have been reported from parts of Maharashtra, and I want to state this unequivocally: violence has no place in our democracy. Elections are a sacred process, and every citizen must be able to vote without fear or intimidation. Let the people decide who…
— Ajit Pawar (@AjitPawarSpeaks) December 2, 2025
Violence was reported from multiple places during the first phase of local body elections in Maharashtra on Tuesday with even the supporters of the ruling allies BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena coming to blows in some places, police said, as per the PTI.
Among others, a case was registered against Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar for entering the polling booth in violation of rules in Hingoli city.
There were clashes as local leaders accused their rivals of distributing cash to voters and facilitating bogus voting.
While the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP are allies at the state level, their candidates or panels fought against each other in many places and even formed alliances with Opposition parties, according to the PTI.
Clashes between political workers took place at Mahad in Raigad district, Gevrai in Beed, Muktai Nagar in Jalgaon, Bhor in Pune, Mhaswad in Satara, Jat in Sangli, Hingoli, Buldhana, Dahanu in Thane and Shahada in Nandurbar district, a police official said.
In Mahad, supporters of Vikas Gogawale, son of Shiv Sena minister Bharat Gogawale, and NCP`s Sushant Jabre clashed in Nave Nagar area, he said. A person also brandished a firearm, as per the PTI.
In Gevrai in Beed district, an altercation took place between two groups, leading to stone pelting outside the residence of a BJP leader, the official said.
Stone pelting took place and vehicles were vandalised in Shahu Nagar, forcing the police to use lathi-charge to disperse the mob, the news agency reported.
An altercation took place between BJP workers and police at Jat in Sangli district.
On Tuesday, polling was held across 264 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Maharashtra.
(with PTI inputs)
