Maharashtra: Shinde Sena MLA booked after video shows him entering polling booth as woman votes

Shiv Sena MLA Santosh Bangar was on Tuesday booked for allegedly violating the election rules after a video showed him entering a polling booth while a woman was casting her vote during the local body polls in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, The Indian Express reported.

Bangar belongs to the Shiv Sena faction led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The incident took place inside a booth in the Bazaar area of Kalamnuri town.

On Tuesday, voting was underway for more than 260 municipal councils and nagar panchayats in the state.

The video widely shared online purportedly showed Bangar entering the polling booth, peeking into the enclosure and speaking to the woman who was casting her vote.

Shinde Sena's Santosh Bangar is seen here directly telling a lady to vote for him. His supporter then looks inside the polling enclosure and points out the button to the lady. He and his supporters are openly using phones inside the booth. How can they call this a free and fair… pic.twitter.com/60MOJMvvcW— Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) December 2, 2025

Opposition leader Varsha Gaikwad alleged that Bangar was “directly telling a lady to vote for him”.

“His supporter then looks inside the polling enclosure and points out the button to the lady,” the Congress leader alleged on social media. “He and his supporters are openly...

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