Pune Civic Polls: 'Unnecessarily sensationalised,' says NCP after cops visit party strategist's office

Pune Civic Polls: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Ajit Pawar sought to quell speculation after officers from the Pune Crime Branch visited the offices of political strategist Naresh Arora and his consultancy firm, DesignBoxed, on Wednesday

In a statement, Pawar said the police presence was part of a routine information-gathering process and not an enforcement action. He said that the firm extended full cooperation to the authorities and that officials were granted access to all information sought during the visit.

Crime Branch officials visited the Pune office of a political campaign management company working for Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led NCP on Tuesday, following information about purported suspicious activity. However, nothing objectionable was found, police said.

The visit drew attention within Maharashtra’s political circles due to DesignBoxed’s role in managing the NCP’s digital outreach and public messaging ahead of local body polls on 15 January.

Praful Patel, another top NCP leader, also said that reports around Naresh Arora are being ‘unnecessarily sensationalised’. “The facts are clear - authorities sought routine information, full cooperation was extended, and nothing objectionable was found,” Patil, the NCP working president, said in a post on X on Tuesday.

Ajit Pawar and the Pune Police Commissioner have separately confirmed the visit of police officials to the office of Designboxed in Vakdewadi-Shivajinagar area, coinciding with the last day of campaigning for the municipal corporation elections.

DesignBoxed Managing Director Naresh Arora said the crime branch officials asked his staff about the nature of work they are doing for the NCP and demanded certain documents and phone numbers, while he was busy at a press conference of the NCP.

Crime Branch personnel visited the Pune office of Naresh Arora and his organisation, Designboxed, to seek information, Pawar stated on the social media platform X.

DesignBoxed Innovations is a creative political digital campaign management company in engagement-driven digital media campaigns. The company handled the NCP campaign for the civic polls.

"All the required information was provided during the process, and full cooperation was extended to the officials. No objectionable matter or any irregularity was found in the course of this process," Pawar said.

He stated that the NCP stands firmly with Naresh Arora and Designboxd in the matter. He added that the party respects the rule of law and believes in cooperating with all statutory and legal procedures.

"In this case as well, complete cooperation has been extended to the concerned agencies," Pawar added.

Appealed against the spread of confusion

The deputy chief minister also appealed against the spread of confusion, rumours or what he described as unnecessary narratives over the development, asserting that any conclusions should be drawn strictly based on facts.

The NCP is putting forth a position on this issue with restraint, responsibility and clarity, he said. The Nationalist Congress Party, an alliance partner in the Mahayuti, is contesting against the BJP in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad municipal corporation elections.

Addressing a press conference, DesignBoxed MD Naresh Arora said crime branch personnel visited the office of the company in the evening. Arora and other senior staffers were not present in the office as they were busy at the press conference of the NCP.

Arora said the crime branch officials questioned the staff about the nature of work carried out in the office. They also sought to know the nature of work related to the NCP, he said.

"Our staff responded and gave whatever information they wanted. The team sought some documents and some phone numbers, to which our staff members told them that they could not give the information since the senior staff was not at the office," said Arora.

(With agency inputs)