Sharad Pawar says he was offered guarantee of 160 seats in Maharashtra polls
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Nagpur: Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on Saturday revealed that ahead of last year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections, two individuals approached him with a “guarantee” to secure victory in 160 out of the 288 seats in the state. Pawar said he was surprised by the claim but chose to ignore the two men, emphasizing his faith in the Election Commission at the time.
He further explained that he arranged for these individuals to meet Rahul Gandhi, after which the two conveyed their message to the Congress leader. Both Pawar and Gandhi decided to disregard the claims, choosing instead to seek the public’s mandate through the election process. “This is not our path,” Pawar said at a press conference in Nagpur, attended by state party chief Shashikant Shinde, former home ministers Anil Deshmukh and Jitendra Awhad, and state general secretary Rohit Pawar.
Pawar reiterated that the two individuals had claimed vote manipulation in 160 constituencies but stressed that he did not pay heed to these allegations, preferring to go directly to the people. He supported Rahul Gandhi’s calls for a thorough investigation into allegations of vote theft and rigging, stating, “We want an answer from the Election Commission, not from the BJP.”
Supporting Pawar’s account, Jitendra Awhad said the two men had approached Sharad Pawar with details about vote manipulation but that Pawar dismissed the possibility.
However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis strongly rejected the claims. He questioned why Pawar only spoke about the issue after meeting Rahul Gandhi, accusing both leaders of spreading “imaginary stories.” Fadnavis said, “Elections in India are held in a free and fair manner. They raise accusations about EVMs and the election process publicly, but when summoned by the Election Commission, they do not appear or submit affidavits. They claim parliamentary oaths suffice, but that holds no value in courts. They know they risk criminal action if caught lying, so they continue to lie daily and evade accountability.”
With IANS inputs
