Sharad Pawar's '160 Seats Offer' Claim Follows Rahul Gandhi's Big Charge

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft in Karnataka during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the explosive claims against the Election Commission have found support from senior opposition politician and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

The accusations had led to a major showdown between the EC and the Congress MP on Thursday, with the poll body daring the latter to submit a declaration with his findings or withdraw his claims.

Mr Pawar said the allegations contained facts and the Opposition wants answers from the Election Commission. He also claimed that he was offered victory in 160 seats in the 2024 Maharashtra polls but that he and Mr Gandhi decided not to get involved.

Read: "Harmful To Our Democracy": BJP Slams Rahul Gandhi Over Poll Fraud Charge

"I was present when Rahul Gandhi held the press conference in Delhi. He worked very hard and studied those things in depth. Some things came to light in it. It was shown that 40 people voted while one person lived in a house. Now it seems like that the Commission is looking into it in the allegations," Mr Pawar told reporters in Nagpur.

On Thursday, Mr Gandhi had also accused the EC of colluding with the BJP - allegations that the EC denied as "new wine in an old bottle".

The BJP too came down heavily on Mr Gandhi and accused him of insulting the people by calling the party's election victory a "fraud". Voters will continue to reject the Congress for such "irresponsible and shameless" character and conduct, it said.

Sharad Pawar's Big Claim

Meanwhile, in a fresh claim regarding the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, Mr Pawar said two people had approached him before the polls and guaranteed victory in 160 assembly seats, but he and Mr Gandhi declined their offer.

"Two people came to me before the Maharashtra assembly elections. They had assured me that they would win 160 out of 288 seats. However, I did not take them very seriously. I put them both in touch with Rahul Gandhi, but it was my and Rahul Gandhi's decision that we should not get involved," said Mr Pawar.

Read: "Rahul Gandhi Confused...": '80-Member House' Owner Rebuts Vote Fraud Claim

The Election Commission, in their initial response on Thursday, had asked Rahul Gandhi to submit a formal complaint under oath. Speaking on this, Mr Pawar said it is not right to doubt an MP's claims.

"The Election Commission has appealed to Rahul Gandhi to give an affidavit. The Election Commission is an autonomous body. Rahul Gandhi said that he took an oath while becoming a Member of Parliament. Therefore, there is no need to take a separate oath. If the Election Commission is insisting on this, then I think it is not right," he said.

"There is a need to go deeper into the issues raised by Rahul Gandhi. It is not right for people to have doubts about the parliamentary democracy system. This should be properly investigated," he added.

Mr Pawar also questioned the need for the BJP to respond to allegations that were raised against a third entity - the EC.

"Rahul Gandhi has questioned the Election Commission. Then what is the reason for the BJP or their Chief Minister to come forward to present his side?" said Mr Pawar while referring to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's comments on Mr Gandhi's allegation.

Responding to him, Mr Fadnavis sought to know why Mr Pawar felt the need to speak up only after Mr Gandhi made the allegations.

"I don't know why Mr Pawar realised this after meeting Rahul Gandhi after all these days. All these days he did not say anything and today he spoke suddenly. Rahul Gandhi prepares Salim-Javed like scripts and comes up with new imaginary stories daily but that is not Pawar's condition. When Rahul Gandhi spoke about EVMs for years, Pawar did not say anything. Sometimes, he clearly took a position, saying blaming EVMs was wrong. Now suddenly, whatever Mr Pawar has said seems like a result of meeting Rahul Gandhi," said Mr Fadnavis.

Mr Pawar also insisted that the Election Commission answers the Opposition's queries.

"We want an answer from the Election Commission. We will not sit idly by. If our information is wrong, they should tell the country. If not, the truth should come forward. For this, all our colleagues in Parliament will march to the Election Commission," said Mr Pawar.