Nagpur, Aug 9 (IANS) NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed that ahead of last year’s Maharashtra Assembly elections, two individuals approached him with a “guarantee” to secure victory in 160 out of the 288 seats in the state. “I was surprised. I ignored those two people. During that time, I had no suspicion about the Election Commission. I arranged their meeting with Rahul Gandhi. After that, whatever those people wanted to say, they said to Rahul Gandhi. However, Rahul Gandhi and I thought that we should not pay attention to them. This is not our path. We decided that we will go to the people and seek the mandate during the assembly elections,” Pawar said.

Pawar made these revelations at a press conference held here in the presence of state party chief Shashikant Shinde, former home ministers Anil Deshmukh and Jitendra Awhad, state general secretary Rohit Pawar, among others. He claimed that those 2 people had told him about manipulating votes in 160 seats. He reiterated that he did not pay attention to this; instead will seek people's mandate directly. Pawar supported Rahul Gandhi’s move to raise various issues, including vote theft and rigging in the elections.

“There should be a thorough investigation into the allegations made by Rahul Gandhi, and we want an answer from the Election Commission, not from the BJP,” added Pawar. Awhad corroborated Pawar’s account, saying that 2 people had gone to meet party chief Sharad Pawar and offered him about the manipulation of votes in 160 seats. However, the party chief did not pay attention to them, saying that this could not happen. However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis rejected the claims outright. He said, “I don't understand one thing. Why did Pawar Saheb remember all this only after meeting Rahul Gandhi, and that too after so many days?”

“Sharad Pawar didn't say anything for so long, but today he suddenly made this statement. Just like Rahul Gandhi, who is telling imaginary stories every day, is Pawar Saheb doing the same ?” he taunted. He further stated, “Even if opponents create confusion, elections in India are held in a free and fair manner. They make accusations about EVMs and the election process in public, but when called by the Election Commission, they don’t turn up. They are not ready to give an affidavit. They say they have taken an oath in Parliament. But does the oath in Parliament work in the Supreme Court or in the high courts? They know that if caught lying, they could face criminal action. So they just lie every day and run away."