Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP president Ajit Pawar on Monday asserted that the Mahayuti alliance will win at least 175 out of the 288 seats in the November 20 assembly elections in the state.
Ajit Pawar, whose NCP is part of the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, also said he would win the Baramati constituency by a margin of more than 1 lakh votes. He is contesting against his nephew and NCP (SP) candidate Yugendra Pawar.
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Asked about some surveys giving an edge to the ruling alliance, Ajit said, "Our aim is to collectively win 175 seats. All the Mahayuti parties are working hard towards this goal."
Later, in a curt and confident response to his uncle, Yugendra Pawar said that it will be the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) that will win around 175-180 seats in the Maharashtra elections.
The MVA comprises Congress, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena faction and Sharad Pawar's NCP faction.
"I don't think that they will (Mahayuti) get 175 seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi will get maybe close to 175 or 180 seats," Yugendra told reporters.
READ: Opinion poll predicts clear win for Mahayuti, setback for Maha Vikas Aghadi
Responding to Ajit Pawar's claim of a big victory from Baramati, Yugendra said: "I don't think that is necessarily true, but on the 23rd we will get to know the exact margin. I can't talk about the margin today but the victory will be definitely ours."
He added that water, unemployment, increasing crime rates and corruption are some of the big issues the state is grappling with, adding that MVA will work to resolve them.
Yugendra also added that the BJP ideology is a "threat to the country", saying that India has always been a secular country and does not beleive in the Hindutva ideology.
Ajit Pawar, who is a seven-time MLA from Baramati, is facing a stiff challenge from his nephew Yugendra, 32, in the upcoming elections.
In the 2019 assembly elections, Ajit Pawar, who was contesting as part of undivided NCP, defeated BJP's Gopichand Padalkar by a huge margin of 1.65 lakh votes.
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Ajit's wife, Sunetra Pawar, contested against his sister, Supriya Sule, from the Baramati seat. Sule defeated Sunetra by a significant margin of over 1.5 lakh votes.
Elections will be held in Maharashtra in a single phase on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23.
(With inputs from agencies)
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