Senior NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) leader and MLA Jitendra Awhad has alleged receiving abusive and threatening messages, including direct death threats, following a heated confrontation with BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar outside the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Awhad posted screenshots of the messages, which included obscene abuses aimed at him and his mother. One of the chilling messages warned: “Don’t mess with Gopi Saheb... we’ll shoot you or run you over.” Awhad questioned the law-and-order situation in Maharashtra, posting: “This message came to me while I was at Vidhan Bhavan just now… What’s going on in Maharashtra?”

He tagged the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, the Chief Minister’s Office, the Director General of Police, and Mumbai Police, and even publicly shared the sender’s mobile number. Despite this, no official statement has been issued regarding police action.

The threats came a day after a highly public verbal spat between Awhad and Padalkar. According to reports, Padalkar’s vehicle allegedly brushed against Awhad and his associate Dhananjay Deshmukh (brother of MLA Santosh Deshmukh) near the gate of the legislature building.

What began as a minor scuffle escalated into an open war of words, witnessed by several bystanders. Padalkar reportedly shouted, “I roam alone, not with dogs like you,” while Awhad hit back with, “Should I show you who I really am?”