Two men promised 160 seats in Maha poll: Pawar

A day after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reignited the “vote theft” debate, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday set off fresh fireworks, claiming that two unidentified men had met him ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra elections and “guaranteed” the Opposition a win in 160 of the 288 seats.

Pawar, speaking to mediapersons in Nagpur, said he even introduced the two to Rahul. “They offered to help the Opposition win 160 seats. Rahul dismissed it, saying this is not our way and we should go to the people directly. Even I didn’t take them seriously, so I never kept their names or numbers,” he claimed.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP had won 132 seats, with allies Shiv Sena and NCP securing 57 and 41, respectively. The Maha Vikas Aghadi, which had dominated the Lok Sabha polls months earlier, blamed its defeat on alleged manipulation of electronic voting machines and fudging of data.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis hit back, questioning why Pawar had kept silent until now. “Earlier, Pawar never backed Rahul’s EVM claims. Now he’s repeating the same Salim-Javed script that Rahul spins. Free and fair polls happen in India,” he said.

Taking aim at Rahul, Fadnavis mocked his refusal to file an affidavit with the Election Commission over his allegations. “Why not submit a declaration in a quasi-judicial matter? Because if caught lying, he will face criminal proceedings,” he said.

‘No truce with nephew Ajit’

NCP chief Sharad Pawar has ruled out the possibility of reuniting with nephew Ajit Pawar, saying he will “never support a BJP-led alliance”. The veteran leader dismissed speculation of reconciliation two years after the 2023 party split, when Ajit broke away with several MLAs to join the ruling Mahayuti government.