Maharashtra: Helicopter en route to pick up Shiv Sena leader tilts during landing in Raigad, pilot injured

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The pilot of a helicopter was injured after it tilted during landing in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Friday, a police official said, reported news agency PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to pick Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare for a public rally in connection with the ongoing Lok Sabha polls, the police official told PTI.

The helicopter got tilted when the pilot tried to land on a makeshift helipad at Mahad around 9.30 am, he said.

While the pilot suffered injuries, the helicopter's rotor blades got damaged in the incident, he said, citing preliminary findings.

As per a live video recording shared by Andhare, the chopper was making a landing attempt at an unidentified location and suddenly it seemed to swerve, wobble, lose balance and then crash with a loud sound in a cloud of dust on an open ground.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's son and Shiv Sena candidate Shrikant on Thursday filed nomination from the Kalyan Lok Sabha seat, while Union minister Dr Bharati Pawar of the BJP submitted papers from the Dindori constituency.

Another Shiv Sena candidate, Hemant Godse, filed nomination from the Nashik Lok Sabha constituency in north Maharashtra.

Sena candidate Shrikant Shinde is seeking re-election from the Kalyan constituency near Mumbai.

In the financial capital, Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate Amol Kirtikar and Congress nominee Bhushan Patil submitted their papers to election authorities to contest from Mumbai North West and Mumbai North constituencies, respectively.

Kirtikar is pitted against Shiv Sena MLA Ravindra Waikar, while Patil is taking on Union minister Piyush Goyal of the BJP.

The ruling Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP took out a grand procession before Dr Pawar and Godse, both sitting MPs, filed their papers at the Nashik collector's office.

Chief Minister Shinde, deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Nashik district guardian minister Dadaji Bhuse, state cabinet members Girish Mahajan, Chhagan Bhujbal and other leaders of the alliance were present on the occasion.

CM Shinde said Nashik and Dindori in north Maharashtra were bastions of the Shiv Sena-BJP and expressed confidence both the Mahayuti candidates will win with huge margins as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has achieved in ten years what Congress could not do in 60 years of its rule.

Godse, notably, had defeated united Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) candidate Chhagan Bhujbal from Nashik in 2014, and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal in 2019. Chhagan Bhujbal, now a Cabinet minister and member of the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, was keen on contesting from the seat this time, but pulled out of the race later.

(With inputs from PTI)