Allowing Gaikwad to vote in council polls is misuse of power, alleges Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday said allowing BJP MLA Ganpat Gaikwad, who is in judicial custody in a shooting case, to vote in the Maharashtra legislative council polls would amount to misuse of power.

The Congress had also urged the returning officer of the biennial elections not to allow Gaikwad, accused of opening fire at a Shiv Sena leader inside a police station, to cast his vote.

Talking to reporters, Raut cited that in the last legislative council polls, the then NCP MLAs Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik were not allowed to vote.

"Gaikwad can come out from jail to vote, but Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik were also in jail (during the 2022 council polls) and were not allowed to vote. This is use or misuse of power," he said.

He further alleged that the results of the recent Lok Sabha election have shown that people have backed the opposition parties.

"Even their (the ruling parties) MLAs can break or take a different stand. No one should be under the impression tha