NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday backed Rahul Gandhi’s “vote-theft” allegation and urged the Election Commission to investigate. Pawar revealed that, ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, two individuals approached him claiming they could “guarantee” the Opposition victory in 160 out of the 288 seats. He said he even introduced them to Rahul Gandhi, but both INDIA alliance leaders rejected the proposal, stating, “This is not our way.”
“I still remember — before the Assembly poll dates were announced, two people came to meet me in Delhi,” Pawar recalled, adding that the matter had not been given the attention it might have warranted. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticised the Opposition for “lying and running away.”
Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar said, “They told me Maharashtra has 288 Assembly seats, and out of those, they could guarantee us 160. I was surprised. To be clear, while they made this claim, I had no doubts about the Election Commission. Such people do appear from time to time, so I ignored them.”
#WATCH | Maharashtra: NCP-SCP leader Jayant Patil says, “Sharad Pawar was never going to join BJP. It was the effort of some people to take him in that direction but Sharad Pawar continuously rejected it. This is why some people are saying that he was going to go, but I want to… pic.twitter.com/pv47dyrrWq
— ANI (@ANI) April 12, 2024
Sharad Pawar, Rejected 160-Seat Offer as MVA Blames Poll Defeat on Irregularities
Pawar added that he arranged for the duo to meet Rahul Gandhi. “They told him whatever they wanted to. But both Rahul Gandhi and I felt we should not entertain such things. This is not our way. We decided to go before the people and seek their support,” he said, noting that he did not keep the visitors’ contact details as he gave no importance to their claims.
While Pawar did not explicitly mention the election, his remarks appeared to refer to the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls, where the ruling Mahayuti — comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP — secured a landslide victory with 235 seats, while the Opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi, made up of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP(SP), won just 50 seats.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has attributed its defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections to alleged electoral irregularities, pointing out that it had won 30 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats in the parliamentary polls held just months earlier.
At a press conference on Saturday, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the recent presentation by Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, on alleged “vote theft” and criticised the Election Commission (EC) for demanding a signed declaration from him.
“The Election Commission is an independent body. Rahul Gandhi has already taken an oath in Parliament, so there is no need for a separate affidavit. If the EC still insists, that is not right. His allegations must be probed in depth, and the truth must come out. My only question is — if the objection is to the EC, why are BJP leaders or the Chief Minister responding? We want answers from the EC, not from the BJP,” Pawar said.
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Rahul Gandhi, intensifying his criticism of the EC on Thursday, accused the poll body and the BJP of committing “a huge criminal fraud” in the elections. He released what he described as findings from a Congress investigation into alleged irregularities in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment, part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency in Karnataka, during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Referring to the recent INDIA bloc dinner hosted by Rahul Gandhi at his Delhi residence, Pawar brushed aside speculation about Uddhav Thackeray’s seating position, likening it to moviegoers avoiding the front row.
“I’ve been seeing since yesterday that politics is being made over where Uddhav Thackeray was seated. When you watch a presentation, you don’t sit in the first row — just like in a movie theatre, you prefer seats further back. I was also seated at the back. Unfortunately, unnecessary politics is being played over this,” Pawar remarked.
Fadnavis slams Oppn
Hours after Pawar’s remarks, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused the Opposition of having a habit of “lying and running away.”
“Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly questioned EVMs, but Sharad Pawar has never done so. In fact, he has often made it clear that blaming EVMs is wrong. Now, after meeting Rahul Gandhi, he is suddenly talking about changes in the voting process. This shift is the result of Rahul Gandhi’s meeting,” Fadnavis said.
Fadnavis further defended India’s electoral process, saying, “No matter how much confusion the Opposition tries to create, elections anywhere are not as transparent and free as in India. Those who accuse the EVMs and the Election Commission speak publicly but refuse to give an affidavit. They claim their oath in Parliament is enough — but is that valid in the Supreme Court or high courts? They know that if they are caught lying, criminal action could follow. These are cowardly people who lie and run away every day.”
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