Sharad Pawar claims he got 160-seat win offer for MVA, Devendra Fadnavis retorts
"Have you also tried using such people? Who came to you with the idea of influencing the elections? I am surprised that such people approach these big leaders with the idea of influencing the elections of India, and the leaders introduce them to each other," he said."They did not complain to the police, or the Election Commission. They did not act on it, which means, they have tried using them," he added, while dubbing Pawar and Rahul Gandhi's claims on poll rigging "cooked-up stories".Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also echoed Pawar's claim, saying two persons had also met party chief Uddhav Thackeray ahead of last year's state polls and ensured victory "through EVMs" in 60-65 difficult seats.Pawar's explosive claims came a day after Rahul Gandhi alleged that the poll body was "hiding a big crime" by refusing to share electronic voter lists and polling booth videos, claiming this was done to shield the BJP's alleged theft of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka and other states, a claim vehemently refuted by the poll body, who sought "proof" from him to prove what he was saying was indeed true.During Saturday's media briefing, Fadnavis slammed Rahul Gandhi for not complying with the poll panel's demand that he give a declaration on oath about his allegations."Will you say I have already taken an oath under the Constitution if the court asks you to submit an affidavit?" he said, adding it was Gandhi's usual tactic to tell a lie and go away (without substantiating it)."Why doesn't Gandhi give a declaration in a quasi-judicial matter? Because he is lying, and if caught, he will be liable to face criminal proceedings," Fadnavis further said.advertisementFadnavis also raked up the "EVM hack" claim often made by several opposition parties after poll losses and asked as to why none of them came forward to join the "EVM hackathon" organised by the chief poll body.In the Maharashtra Assembly elections held last November, the BJP won 132 out of the 288 seats, while its allies - Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar) - added 57 and 41 seats to the Mahayuti alliance's tally, respectively.However, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of the Congress, NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), who won a total of 46 seats in the 2024 elections, alleged discrepancies in EVMs and anomalies of data.- EndsMust Watch
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