NCP (SP) leader Mehboob Shaikh questions poll body over BJP stole worn by Pune teachers' seat candidate

Voting is under way today in the graduates' constituencies of Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Marathwada), along with the teachers' constituencies of Pune and Amravati. Polling is thus on in five constituencies in all. Police arrangements have been made at several polling stations.

Meanwhile, a tweet by Mehboob Shaikh, youth president of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), has stirred controversy. A video of voting in the Pune teachers' constituency is going viral, and Shaikh has used it to question the Election Commission's functioning.

Shaikh says Kaustubh Gawade, the Mahayuti candidate from the Pune teachers' constituency, went to the polling station wearing a BJP stole and cast his vote. Shaikh attacked the Commission in harsh words. He asked whether it would take any action on this, or would continue to consider itself blessed by grovelling before the BJP.

In his tweet, Shaikh wrote, "BJP's Pune teachers' Legislative Council candidate Kaustubh Gawade is going to vote wearing the party's stole bearing the party symbol. What on earth are the Election Commission and its staff doing? Will the Commission take action on this? Or will it still consider itself blessed by licking the BJP's boots?" The tweet is dated October 23, 2026.

Another allegation has also surfaced from the Pune teachers' constituency. Former MLA and independent candidate Dattatray Sawant has said that money is being used without limit in this election. According to him, in the past 48 hours some candidates exerted pressure through money on a large scale and ran a business of distributing cash. Sawant called it unfortunate for the Pune division teachers' constituency.

Sawant alleged that some candidates were visiting teachers' homes and trying to give them money. He said he could name the candidates distributing money but does not, because of his upbringing. According to Sawant, across the 58 talukas of all five districts, one candidate is openly distributing money to every teacher at the rate of Rs 11,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000.