‘Vote theft’ row: After Rahul Gandhi’s cost, Sharad Pawar says he was supplied 160 ‘assured’ seats earlier than Maharashtra polls | India Information – Instances of India

NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Occasion (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed that two people approached him forward of the 2024 Maharashtra Meeting elections, promising 160 out of 288 seats. The revelation comes as Congress chief Rahul Gandhi intensifies allegations of large-scale electoral malpractice involving the Election Fee (EC) and the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP).“I do not forget that earlier than the Maharashtra Meeting elections have been introduced, two folks got here to fulfill me in Delhi… They informed me that out of 288 seats in Maharashtra, we assure you 160 seats. I used to be stunned, to be trustworthy, I had no doubts in regards to the Election Fee,” Pawar informed reporters in Nagpur.Pawar mentioned he later organized a gathering between the 2 people and Rahul Gandhi. “No matter they wished to say, they mentioned in entrance of Rahul Gandhi. However Rahul Gandhi and I have been of the opinion that we must always not take note of this; this isn’t our path,” he added.The declare provides weight to Rahul Gandhi’s repeated accusations of “vote chori” (vote theft). At an August 7 press convention, Gandhi alleged that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have been “choreographed” by the EC to learn the BJP. He cited Maharashtra and Karnataka as examples, alleging unexplained spikes in voter turnout and irregularities within the electoral rolls.“In Maharashtra and Haryana, we noticed it proper in entrance of our faces… Extra voters have been added in 5 months than in 5 years in Maharashtra… Enormous soar in voter turnout after 5 pm,” Gandhi mentioned, including that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance “acquired worn out” within the Meeting polls regardless of a stronger exhibiting within the Lok Sabha elections.The Congress chief claimed that in some constituencies, extra voters have been added than the complete inhabitants 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 requested RAhul Gandhi to submit an affidavit and supply proof of any alleged unlawful inclusion or deletion of voters.The 2024 Maharashtra meeting elections noticed the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance safe a sweeping victory with 235 seats, together with 132 for the BJP, 57 for the Shiv Sena, and 41 for the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction). The MVA suffered main losses, with Shiv Sena (UBT) profitable 20 seats, Congress 16, and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) 10.