Fadnavis questions Sharad Pawar’s revelation about poll win guarantee offer in 160 seats

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has questioned a revelation made by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder and chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday about being approached by two men who met him personally before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections and guaranteed him an NCP victory in 160 assembly seats out of a total of 288 assembly seats in the state.

Reacting to Sharad Pawar’s statement to media persons in Nagpur on Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “I don’t understand why Sharad Pawar remembered all this only after so many days when he met Rahul Gandhi? He didn’t speak for so long and suddenly he spoke today. Rahul Gandhi has been narrating Salim-Javed type movie screenplays for a long time. Though Rahul Gandhi spoke about electronic voting machines (EVMs) for many years, Sharad Pawar never talked about them. In fact, Sharad Pawar stated many times that it was not right to blame EVMs. But now, suddenly, Sharad Pawar made this statement after meeting Rahul Gandhi. Clearly, the result of meeting Rahul Gandhi is visible”.

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“No matter how much confusion is created, everyone knows that free and fair elections are held in India. When the Election Commission asked them for an affidavit about their claims, nobody was ready to do it. They say that they took an oath in Parliament. If the Supreme Court asks somebody to give an affidavit and if they refuse, will it work? Similarly, if anybody is asked for an affidavit in a legal matter, why don’t they give it? Because they know that they are lying and if their lie is caught due to the affidavit, criminal action can be taken against them. That is why people lie and run away everyday,” Fadnavis said, without naming Rahul Gandhi.

The revelation of two men meeting Sharad Pawar personally before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections and guaranteeing him NCP victories in 160 assembly seats out of total 288 assembly seats in the state, was made by NCP founder and chief Sharad Pawar while interacting with media persons in Nagpur on Saturday.

“I remember how before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections were announced, two people came to meet me in Delhi. They told me that there are 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra, out of which they could guarantee my party a victory in 160 seats. I was surprised. Though they gave me such a guarantee, I did not have any doubts about the Election Commission. So I ignored those people but I got them to meet Rahul Gandhi. They spoke to Rahul Gandhi. However, Rahul Gandhi and I were of the opinion that this is not our path. So we decided that we will go to the people in the usual way,” NCP founder and chief Sharad Pawar said.

“Rahul Gandhi worked hard to provide information about irregularities in the voting process but the Election Commission said that he should file an affidavit before it. The Election Commission is an autonomous body. Rahul Gandhi said that he has taken oath in Parliament, and so there is no need for a separate affidavit. If the Election Commission insists on such a thing, then it is not right,” Sharad Pawar said.

“There is a need to go deeper into allegations made by Rahul Gandhi and to investigate the entire matter so that the truth is revealed. All I am saying is that when a matter regarding the Election Commission was raised, what is the need for BJP leaders or the Chief Minister to answer it? We want an answer from the Election Commission and not from the BJP,” Sharad Pawar said.