Sunita D
A day before Mumbai votes in the civic polls, the lid blew off the open-secret scandal of cash being distributed to voters as a bribe to vote. Following this, a string of bribery FIRs were filed by Navi Mumbai voters against BJP functionaries, forcing the election commission to address the issue.
State election commissioner, Dinesh Waghmare, “On wednesday, I held a meeting with representatives of political parties. One of the issues they raised was money distribution. The IG (law & order) was also present. We have flying squads and surveillance teams in place. We have assured the parties of immediate action if there is any such incident.”
Silver bowls, saris, wads of banknotes were seen distributed in videos taking rounds on social media. The leading parties from Dharavi, Kalina, Sion, Chembur and Navi Mumbai, Thane were seen handing out envelopes in a cash-for-votes.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTZp4x_iKYz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== (embed this video)