Sanjay Raut claims two individuals offered Uddhav 'EVM victory' in Maharashtra polls

A day after Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) chief Sarad Pawar said the same two individuals met him ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections and “guaranteed” the Opposition’s victory in a majority seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut echoed him saying two persons had also met Uddhav Thackeray with similar claims ahead of the same polls.

According to the member of the Rajya Sabha, the duo promised Uddhav victory “through EVMs” in 60-65 tricky seats. He also said that the same persons had met the former Maharashtra chief minister during the last Lok Sabha elections, which took place earlier in the same year.

Uddhav refused offer

Uddhav refused to agree with the idea, saying he believed in the electoral process and democracy, Raut added, pointing to the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) dominance in the general polls, where they bagged 30 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra.

We told them we believe in democracy and will win the Lok Sabha polls for sure, looking at the atmosphere in the country.

The Opposition alliance, however, failed to win the Assembly elections that followed. The polls were swept by the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured 230 of the 288 seats. The BJP alone won 132.

Also read: Eknath Shinde says his Delhi visits bother Opposition, not Mahayuti allies

Addressing the media, Raut said, “Sharad Pawar said some people met him before the polls. The same set of people also met Uddhav Thackeray during the Lok Sabha (polls). We told them we believe in democracy and will win the Lok Sabha polls for sure, looking at the atmosphere in the country.” He added the same persons returned to Uddhav months later for the state elections.

Rahul ignored them: Pawar

On Saturday, August 9, Pawar said two individuals had met him before the Assembly polls and “guaranteed” the Opposition's win in 160 of the 288 seats. He also claimed to have introduced the two persons to the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. According to the veteran, the Congress leader paid no heed.

“I introduced them to Rahul Gandhi. He ignored what was told to him. He was also of the view that we (Opposition) shouldn't get involved in such things and go to the people directly,” the former chief minister of Maharashtra said.

Also read: Sharad Pawar says two men offered MVA 160 seats in Maharashtra polls, Rahul Gandhi declined

Raut, on the other hand, said they told the duo that after registering an overwhelming success in the general polls, the Opposition would clinch the state battle too.

“They told us to assign them 60-65 difficult seats and promised victory through EVMs. However, Thackeray said we don't feel the need to do it,” the senior MP said.

What the two men claimed

The two told them that even if the Opposition parties did not require their help, those in power already had a plan through EVMs and electoral rolls, the leader alleged.

“(They told us that) they can foresee our potential failure (in elections) and can help us. We still trusted the Election Commission and democracy. Unfortunately, those who met Uddhav and Sharad may have had an element of truth in their claim,” Raut said.

Also read: Rahul asks EC to share voter lists, video recordings from past 10 years

The MVA expressed disbelief over the result of the Maharashtra elections last year, with Raut alleging that some of the Opposition’s seats had been stolen.

The claims by the two top Opposition leaders in Maharashtra come at a time when Rahul has brought a serious allegation of vote theft against the BJP and the Election Commission.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reacted to Pawar’s claims on Sunday, questioning the timing and asking why neither the police nor the EC was approached when it happened. He dismissed them as a Salim-Javed script.

(With inputs from agencies)