'Why is Pawar disclosing this ...': Fadnavis on NCP (SP) chief's 'seat guarantee' claim

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday questioned why NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar had disclosed only now that two men approached him ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections with an offer to help the Opposition win 160 of the 288 seats.

“Why is Pawar disclosing this after Rahul Gandhi’s claims? Earlier, Pawar never endorsed Gandhi’s allegations about EVM manipulation. No matter what, free and fair polls are held in India. Gandhi tells stories that sound like a Salim-Javed script, and what Pawar has said seems to be the same script,” Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai.

Earlier in the day, Pawar told the media that the men had met him in Delhi before the polls, claiming they could guarantee them 160 seats. He said he later introduced them to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, but both leaders agreed to reject the offer, saying, “This is not our path.” Pawar added that he had no doubts about the Election Commission at the time.

The revelation comes amid Rahul Gandhi’s repeated allegations of “vote chori” (vote theft) in recent elections, accusing the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP. Gandhi has claimed that lakhs of voters were added to rolls in Maharashtra just months before the state polls, significantly benefiting the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance. At a press conference on August 7, Gandhi also alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha polls were “choreographed” to favour the BJP, citing unexpected results in states like Karnataka and anomalies in voter numbers in Maharashtra and Haryana.