Sharad Pawar backs Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' allegations

Sharad Pawar, president of the NCP (SP), has backed Rahul Gandhi’s charges of “vote theft” on Saturday (August 9) and said that the Election Commission (EC) should look into the “well-researched” and “well-documented” statements.

‘MVA should have been careful’

Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Pawar also said that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi should have been more careful ahead of the assembly elections in Maharashtra. "We should have looked into it earlier and been careful," he said.

Pawar’s comments come days after Rahul Gandhi dubbed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar as an "institutionalised chori (theft)", alleging that the EC was colluding with the BJP to carry out “vote theft” to take away the voting rights of the poor.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi: EC colluding with BJP to 'steal elections'

‘Opposition yet to decide on VP poll’

Pawar also said that Rahul made his presentation with evidence and the EC should look into it. He expressed displeasure over the controversy on Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray's seating at a dinner meeting hosted by Rahul and dubbed it as “totally unnecessary.”

"There was a PowerPoint presentation. When we watch a movie on screen, we don't sit in front but at the back. Farooq Abdullah and I sat at the back. Similarly, Uddhav Thackeray and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah were also seated at the back to watch the presentation properly," he said as quoted by PTI.

Pawar also said that the Opposition is yet to decide its stand on the Vice-Presidential election slated for September 9. He rubbished speculations about his faction joining hands with the ruling NCP led by his nephew Ajit Pawar. "We will never align with a BJP-led alliance," added Pawar.

Also Read: Share names of voters wrongfully included: Karnataka poll officer to Rahul

Rahul ‘vote chori’ charge

Rahul had earlier alleged that the Election Commission is colluding with the BJP to "steal elections," presenting what he called "concrete evidence of vote chori." Speaking at AICC headquarters in New Delhi, the former Congress Chief presented an analysis of the data from Karnataka's Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He said that Congress received 626,208 votes while the BJP got 658,915 votes in Bangalore Central, losing by 32,707 votes. Despite winning six of seven segments, Congress lost the Mahadevapura Assembly segment by over 114,000 votes. Gandhi claimed a "vote chori" of 100,250 votes occurred in the constituency.

The Congress leader noted that the BJP won 25 Lok Sabha seats with less than 33,000 votes, suggesting Prime Minister Modi needed to "steal" only 25 seats to maintain power. Gandhi alleged elections are now "choreographed," claiming the EC's refusal to provide transparency convinced him of collusion to "steal elections."

(With agency inputs)