Patna, Sept. 21: The Election Commission has found Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar guilty of violating the model code of conduct in Bihar but spared him the rod because it was the first time the senior Maharashtra politician had done so.

Chief election commissioner B.B. Tandon, now in Bihar with his full team, said: “The commission examined the reply submitted by him (Pawar) wherein he had denied having violated the code. We considered the entire case and reviewed the CD. We concluded that he had violated the model code.”

“In the second part of his reply, the minister had expressed regret for inadvertently violating the model code, if at all. Since this was the first such case, we advised him not to do so in future.”

Pawar, during an election meeting at Motipur in Muzaffarpur district, had reportedly promised to get the closed sugar mills of the region revived if the RJD-Congress-NCP alliance came to office in Bihar.

The CEC promised that other cases of model code violation are under examination and action will “certainly be taken” against all offenders, “whoever the person may be”.

The second prominent case is against RJD president Laloo Prasad Yadav and his ministerial colleague Prem Gupta, who travelled to Nirvachan Sadan “for political purpose” in their official vehicles.

The third case also concerns Laloo Prasad and some of his party leaders, who allegedly violated the norms that ban public meetings after 10 pm. The RJD president had addressed one such meeting at Dumraon in Buxar well beyond the deadline. An FIR has been registered in the case.