The Election Commission (EC) has responded to allegations of "selective frisking" made by Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray after his bags were checked by election authorities for the second time in three days on Tuesday. Thackeray's bags were frisked when his helicopter landed at Kasar Shirsi village in Maharashtra’s Latur district. He posted a video showing the frisking process, during which he asked officials to identify themselves and confirm if they had money in their wallets.
In response, an EC official clarified that the checks were conducted in adherence to strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to maintain fairness in the election process. "Aircraft and helicopters of top political leaders are checked without any relaxation, following established procedures," the official said.
Thackeray questioned why he was the "first customer" of the day and suggested that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should also undergo similar checks. The official, however, pointed out that other political figures, including BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari and Vinod Tawde, Congress' Amit Deshmukh, and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, also underwent similar checks at Kasar Shirsi on the same day.
The EC further referenced similar checks during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, including BJP leaders' helicopters in Bihar, reinforcing that these procedures are followed uniformly across political parties.
