Checking of bags a non-issue, Uddhav seeking votes by whining: Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said Shiv Sena (UBT) head Uddhav Thackeray was trying to divert the attention by needlessly protesting against the checking of his bags by poll officials and was "seeking votes by whining".

What is wrong with checking of bags? the senior BJP leader wondered.

Thackeray's frustration was showing, Fadnavis said on Tuesday while campaigning for the ruling Mahayuti's candidate Sulabha Ganpat Gaikwad in Kalyan East in Thane district ahead of the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls.

"What is wrong with checking bags? We had our bags checked during campaigning, and there was no need for this level of frustration," the deputy CM said, adding that election officials followed the same procedures with his campaign team too.

Lacking pressing topics, Thackeray is now "seeking votes by whining", he said.

For the second consecutive day, Thackeray claimed his bags were inspected by election authorities on Tuesday after he arrived in Latur district to campaign.

The former chief minister's party posted a video of the incident on a social media platform.

Fadnavis, meanwhile, also attacked the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, pointing out that some of its allies moved the high court against the Ladki Bahin Yojana for providing financial assistance to women.

"When Uddhav Thackeray's government was in power, Maharashtra's industrial sector was lagging behind. But now, under our government, Maharashtra has outpaced Karnataka and Gujarat, securing 52 per cent of the total industrial investment in the country this year," he said.