Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote theft’ charge: Sharad Pawar claims offer of 160 ‘guaranteed’ seats before Maharashtra polls; Fadnavis questions timing

NEW DELHI: Amid Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote theft” accusations, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed that two individuals approached him before the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, offering to secure victory in 160 of the 288 seats.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned the timing of the disclosure, linking it to Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations against the Election Commission (EC) and the 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 introduced the individuals to 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.

Fadnavis questioned why Pawar made the revelation now, suggesting it supported Rahul Gandhi’s narrative. “Why is Pawar disclosing this after Rahul Gandhi's claims? Earlier Pawar never endorsed Gandhi's claims about (manipulation of) EVMs. No matter what, free and fair polls are held in India... Rahul Gandhi tells stories that sound like a Salim-Javed script, and what Pawar has said seems to be the same script,” he said.

The chief minister also criticised Rahul Gandhi for not filing an affidavit as demanded by the EC to substantiate his claims of “huge criminal fraud” in the polls. “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 said.

On August 7, Rahul Gandhi alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were “choreographed” by the EC to favour the BJP, pointing to Maharashtra and Karnataka as examples of voter roll irregularities and sudden spikes in turnout. “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,” he said.

Rahul claimed some constituencies recorded new voter additions exceeding the population of Maharashtra and accused the EC of refusing to share voter lists or CCTV footage. The Maharashtra chief electoral officer has since asked him to provide an affidavit and evidence of illegal voter inclusion or deletion.

The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance win 235 seats, including 132 for the BJP, 57 for the Shiv Sena, and 41 for the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction). The Maha Vikas Aghadi was reduced to 20 seats for Shiv Sena (UBT), 16 for Congress, and 10 for the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).