PERNEM
Tension prevailed at the Pernem deputy collector’s office on Monday, when Panchayat Minister and BJP candidate Rajendra Arlekar and MGP candidate Babu Azgaonkar and their supporters were involved in verbal clashes.
The incident occurred when both the sitting MLA and the MGP alliance candidate were filing their nomination papers.
According to sources, Arlekar was filing his nomination at the deputy collector’s office and Azgaonkar along with his supporters was waiting for his turn outside the office. As Arlekar took more than an hour to file his nomination, Azgaonkar lost patience and reportedly started making a noise along with his supporters. Sources informed that when Arlekar came out after filing his nomination papers, Azgaonkar and his supporters rushed inside the deputy collector’s office. They also confronted Arlekar. The BJP workers rushed to the rescue of Arlekar, but the MGP workers did not allow them to enter the premises.
Later, Arlekar, Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik and BJP State general secretary Sadanand Shet Tanawade were escorted out of the premises with the help of the police, informed sources. Later, heated arguments broke between the BJP and MGP workers and they also started raising slogans gainst each other.
Sources added that Deputy Collector Harish Adkonkar directed the Pernem Police to ask the MGP supporters to leave the premises.
After Deputy Collector Adkonkar reported the incident to senior police officials, DySP Mahesh Gaonkar visited the site and pacified both the BJP and MGP workers. Later, the party workers went to their respective booth offices.
