Cash-for-votes allegations have erupted in the Konkan just days before the December 2 local body polls — and this time, they are coming not from the Opposition but from within the ruling alliance. The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has accused its own partner, the BJP, of using money to influence voters in Sindhudurg district.

On Thursday, MLA Nilesh Rane alleged that cash recovered from the home of a BJP worker in Malvan was intended to buy votes. “The BJP must explain the source of this money. To what extent will one go to win polls? With so much money being pumped in by the ruling party, how can a common man even think of entering politics? There is a limit to everything,” Nilesh said.