File photo of Sharad Pawar
Union Minister Sharad Pawar's comments urging supporters to "vote twice" for his Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, have caught the Election Commission's attention.
Maharashtra election officers have asked for a tape of Mr Pawar's speech at a rally in Navi Mumbai on Sunday, in which he reportedly asked workers to vote first at their hometowns, wash off the ink that would be daubed on their fingers, and then vote again at their places of work.
He pointed out that in the national election beginning April 7, voting in two neighbouring parts of Maharashtra was taking place on different days, and told supporters to make full use of it. "Vote for the clock (NCP's symbol) there and come back to vote for the 'Clock' here as well," he said.
The 73-year-old politician later clarified that his comments were taken out of context.
"I wanted to encourage people to vote. I request people to take the right message and follow their duty," he told reporters.
Mr Pawar's party is an ally of the Congress and co-governs Maharashtra with the party.
His comments were seized by rival parties, including Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, which said it would recommend that the veteran be banned for life.
While Mr Pawar fended off allegations that he has been involved in poll violations, a legislator of his party has also stirred trouble by publicly "admitting" to rigging votes when he was in the BJP.
Dhananjay Munde, who quit the BJP in July over differences with his uncle, BJP leader Gopinath Munde, made the revelation at a rally on Saturday.
''I admit in front of everybody today that I did rig votes for my uncle in the 2009 Lok Sabha election. But I promise you that in my district, there will be no fake voting," he declared in the presence of Mr Pawar and other NCP leaders.