Indian Revenue Service officer Sameer Wankhede, who was under the scanner for several alleged financial and procedural irregularities, will contest the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. He is likely to contest the polls on Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena's ticket, as per sources.
Wankhede is the same officer who led the Narcotics Control Bureau team that arrested actor Shah Rukh's son Aryan Khan from a cruise on drug-related charges in 2021. Aryan spent nearly a month in jail before being released on bail.
Sanjay Kumar Singh, a 1996-batch IPS officer of the Odisha cadre, headed a special investigation team (SIT) of the NCB that gave a clean chit to Aryan Khan and five others citing "lack of evidence" against them. The team punched holes in the investigation carried out by the NCB Mumbai, headed by Mr Wankhede.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case of corruption against Wankhede. He was charged with corruption for allegedly demanding a bribe worth around Rs 25 crore from Shah Rukh Khan. Wankhede denied the allegations as false.
Maharashtra Assembly Elections
Voting for all the 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra will take place in a single phase on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23.
There are 9.63 crore voters in Maharashtra, including 4.97 crore men, 4.66 crore women, and 20.93 Lakh first-time voters, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar stated. There are 36 districts in Maharashtra, with a total of 299 seats including 234 General seats, 25 Schedule Tribe seats, and 29 Schedule Caste seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections are the most-awaited this year because of the immense political upheaval in the past five years. The last assembly elections in 2019 were won by the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition of the Congress, the NCP, and the Shiv Sena. Uddhav Thackeray, leader of the Shiv Sena (then united), ascended to the Chief Minister's chair.