'Vote theft' row: After Rahul Gandhi's charge, Sharad Pawar says he was offered 160 'guaranteed' seats before Maharashtra polls
The revelation comes as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensifies allegations of large-scale electoral malpractice involving the Election Commission (EC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
'I remember that before the Maharashtra Assembly elections were announced, two people came to meet me in Delhi... They told me that out of 288 seats in Maharashtra, we guarantee you 160 seats. I was surprised, to be honest, I had no doubts about the Election Commission,' Pawar told reporters in Nagpur.
Pawar said he later arranged a meeting between the two individuals and Rahul Gandhi. 'Whatever they wanted to say, they said in front of Rahul Gandhi. But Rahul Gandhi and I were of the opinion that we should not pay attention to this; this is not our path,' he added.
The claim adds weight to Rahul Gandhi's repeated accusations of 'vote chori' (vote theft). At an August 7 press conference, Gandhi alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were 'choreographed' by the EC to benefit the BJP.
He cited Maharashtra and Karnataka as examples, alleging unexplained spikes in voter turnout and irregularities in the electoral rolls.
'In Maharashtra and Haryana, we saw it right in front of our faces… More voters were added in five months than in five years in Maharashtra… Huge jump in voter turnout after 5 pm,' Gandhi said, adding that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance 'got wiped out' in the Assembly polls despite a stronger showing in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress leader claimed that in some constituencies, more voters were added than the entire population of Maharashtra, and accused the EC of refusing to share voter lists or CCTV footage requested by the opposition.
The Maharashtra chief electoral officer has since asked RAhul Gandhi to submit an affidavit and provide evidence of any alleged illegal inclusion or deletion of voters.
The 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secure a sweeping victory with 235 seats, including 132 for the BJP, 57 for the Shiv Sena, and 41 for the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction). The MVA suffered major losses, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning 20 seats, Congress 16, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 10.
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