NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar Saturday said two persons had approached him ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections claiming they could “guarantee” the Opposition 160 of the state’s 288 seats, and that he also introduced them to Rahul Gandhi but the two INDIA alliance leaders finally declined their “offer” holding “this is not our way”.
“We did not give it the attention it perhaps required. But I still remember — before the Assembly elections were announced, two people came to meet me in Delhi. They told me that Maharashtra has 288 Assembly seats, and out of those, they would guarantee us 160 seats. I was surprised. To be clear, even though they claimed such a guarantee, I had no doubts about the Election Commission (EC). But such people do show up, so I ignored them,” Pawar said while speaking to reporters in Nagpur.
“I arranged their meeting with Rahul Gandhi. They told him whatever they wanted to. However, both Rahul Gandhi and I felt that we should not pay attention to such things. This is not our path. We decided we would go before the people and find ways to earn their support,” Pawar said, adding that he did not have the two persons’ contact details since he did not give importance to their claims.
Although Pawar did not specify the Assembly polls, it was clear that he was referring to the November 2024 Maharashtra polls in which the incumbent Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP trounced the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP(SP) by winning 235 seats as against the Opposition alliance’s 50 seats.
The MVA attributed their rout to alleged electoral irregularities, flagging that they had bagged 30 of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the parliamentary elections held only a few months prior to the Assembly polls.
At Saturday’s press conference, Pawar lauded the recent presentation made by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, on alleged “vote theft” and criticised the EC for seeking a signed declaration from the LoP.
“The Election Commission is an independent body. Rahul Gandhi said he has already taken an oath in Parliament, so there is no need for a separate affidavit. If the EC still insists on such a thing, that is not right. Rahul Gandhi’s allegations need to be probed in depth. The truth must come out. My only point is that the objection was regarding the EC. Then why do BJP leaders or the Chief Minister need to respond? We want an answer from the EC, not from the BJP,” said Pawar.
Stepping up his attack on the EC Thursday, Rahul accused the poll body and the BJP of perpetrating “a huge criminal fraud” in elections, releasing what he called findings of an investigation the Congress had carried out in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment, which is part of the Bangalore Central parliamentary constituency in Karnataka, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Referring to the INDIA bloc dinner meeting hosted by Rahul at his Delhi residence, Pawar dismissed speculation over Uddhav Thackeray’s seating position, comparing it humorously to movie-goers avoiding the front row.
“First, I must say I have been seeing since yesterday that there is politics over where Uddhav Thackeray was seated in Delhi. When you watch a presentation, you don’t sit in the first row – just as when you go to watch a movie, you don’t sit in the first row, you sit further back. Similarly, I, too, was seated at the back… Unfortunately, politics is being done over where Uddhav Thackeray was seated,” he said.
Hours after Pawar’s remarks, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said the Opposition has a habit of “lying and running away”.
“Although Rahul Gandhi has often raised doubts about the EVM machines, Sharad Pawar has never said so. In fact, Sharad Pawar has often taken a clear stand that it is wrong to blame the EVMs. However, now, after Rahul Gandhi’s meeting, Sharad Pawar has suddenly started talking about changes in the voting process. This is the result of Rahul Gandhi’s meeting,” said Fadnavis.
“No matter how much confusion the Opposition creates, elections are not held anywhere as transparent and free as in India. Those who accuse EVMs and the Election Commission speak in public. But they are not ready to give an affidavit. They say that we have taken an oath in Parliament. But is the oath in Parliament valid in the Supreme Court and the high court? They know that if they are caught lying, criminal action can be taken against them tomorrow. Therefore, these are cowardly people who lie and run away every day,” Fadnavis alleged.
