Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's bags were checked by Election Commission's officials in Palghar on Wednesday. Shinde's bags were checked after his helicopter landed at the Palghar Police ground helipad.

Eknath Shinde`s luggage was checked by ECI officials in Palghar as part of SOPs, sparking debate after similar checks on Uddhav Thackeray`s luggage.

Election officials also checked the bags of Union Minister Ramdas Athawale. Maharashtra BJP posted a video showing Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ bags being checked by security personnel at Kolhapur airport.

A video of the incident has been doing the rounds on social media. In the video, CM Shinde was seen engaging with the election officials as they checked the helicopter and scanned his belongings.

Amid row kickstarted by Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray over his bags checked by election commission officials on two consecutive days, a video surfaced on Wednesday (November 13) showing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's bags checked in Palghar.

The Election Commission's inspections of Maharashtra politicians raise concerns about fairness and protocol, impacting public trust ahead of elections.

The Election Commission says that it has implemented strict checks on Maharashtra political leaders' aircraft and helicopters to ensure fairness in upcoming polls. The explanation came after Uddhav Thackeray's bags were checked for the second time.

Uddhav Thackeray said he was not upset with the election officials, adding that they are following their responsibility and he is fulfilling his.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asked if the election authorities would also inspect the bags of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders after they checked his bag when he arrived in Yavatmal's Wani by helicopter.