Maharashtra: Congress Issues Show Cause Notice To Bunty Shelke For Calling Nana Patole ‘RSS Agent’

The notice asked Shelke to justify his statements in two days or else face suspension from the party for levelling "false allegations" against Patole.

The Maharashtra Congress unit on Saturday issued a show cause notice to party candidate Bunty Shelke, demanding an explanation for his remarks against state unit president Nana Patole after his defeat in assembly elections.

In a statement, Shelke had accused Patole of being an "RSS agent". He contested from the Nagpur Central constituency but lost to BJP candidate Pravin Datke by a margin of around 12,000 votes in the recently concluded polls.

According to a report by PTI, the notice asked Shelke to justify his statements in two days or else face suspension from the party for levelling "false allegations" against Patole.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had campaigned for Shelke, leading a roadshow in his support ahead of the elections. The results, declared on November 23, saw the Mahayuti coalition securing 230 seats, leaving the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with only 46.

Nana Patole Demands EC's Clarification Over Rise In Voter Turnout After Polling Ended In Maharashtra

In recent developments, after the announcement of election results, Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Thursday demanded that the ECI clarify the rise in voter turnout by over 7 per cent after polling for the assembly elections ended on November 20 evening.

Addressing a press conference here, Patole said the “discrepancies” in polling figures put a question mark on the functioning of the Election Commission of India. Patole claimed that the voting percentage was 58.22 at 5 pm but rose by 7.83 percentage points at 11.30 pm.

The ECI must clarify this “discrepancy” as it puts a question mark on transparency, he said. “This is theft of people’s vote. We will seek legal recourse and hit the streets to make people aware,” Patole said, news agency PTI reported.