Even as former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has started his campaign in Karad South highlighting that he had brought in development projects worth Rs 1,800 crore there, NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who was his deputy in the Congress-NCP government, on Thursday said Chavan’s “real face” would be unmasked in a couple of days. “In two-three days, my RTI application will reveal the answers,” Pawar told The Indian Express. Pawar said he had information that Chavan had in the last two months of his tenure approved files of several top builders and developers that were earlier rejected. Demanding a probe, Pawar said what raised his suspicion was a notification that was issued and withdrawn in a span of two days. “This notification was apparently issued to favour top builders,” said Pawar. The former deputy CM said he had already filed an RTI application and expected to get a reply in two-three days. “The reply will expose how many files of builders and developers were cleared in the last two months,” he said. Asked to name the builders, Pawar said: “There were many.hold on for some time, you will come to know,” he said. When asked about the Rs 1,800-crore development projects that Chavan claimed to have launched in his Karad South constituency, Pawar said: “As far as I remember, I had approved the renovation of the samadhi area of former deputy prime minister Yashwantrao Chavan and other works costing Rs 100 crore or so. We had helped approve a couple of more projects. Actually, our leader Sharad Pawar had directed me to help out Chavan. So I did, but I am not aware of the Rs 1,800-crore projects that were sanctioned for one particular constituency,” he said. Pawar said he was surprised that Chavan could get projects worth such a huge amount sanctioned for a single constituency. Incidentally, Chavan not only approved the projects, but also inaugurated some of them, say his associates. On the other hand, Vilas Patil-Undalkar, a seven-time MLA from Karad South, said: “Whenever my projects were approved by the state government, the local civic body dominated by Chavan’s supporters did not give the NOC. As a result, funds were returned and the projects remained a non-starter.” he alleged. The Chavan camp, meanwhile, said it was not worried about the threat of exposure issued by Pawar. BJP, Shiv Sena post-poll alliance not ruled out yet With Shiv Sena’s Anant Geete not resigning from the Centre, speculation is rife that both Sena and BJP are keeping the option of a post-poll alliance open. A Sena-BJP tie-up is possible in the event of either of them falling short of majority after results are declared, say party leaders. Geete told The Indian Express Thursday that he was staying put in the Union cabinet as nobody had asked him to resign. “Our party chief has not asked me to resign, and I am not resigning on my own,” he said, adding that the BJP too has not asked him to step down after the break-up of the alliance. When asked if this meant that Sena and BJP could form a post-poll alliance, Geete said: “Anything is possible in politics”. Union minister Nitin Gadkari, too, said that Geete need not resign. He said that the BJP could consider joining hands with the Sena if the situation so demanded. Describing the split as most “unfortunate and painful”, Gadkari said there was no “bitterness” towards the Sena in the BJP. With PTI
