Sharad Pawar, the leader of the NCP (SP), accused the Maharashtra state elections on Saturday of “misusing power and money,” saying it was the first time such techniques were employed so extensively in both state and national elections.
Pawar said this while visiting with prominent activist Dr. Baba Adhav, who is spearheading a three-day demonstration in Mumbai against the purported “misuse of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)” in the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly elections. Adhav, who is in his 90s, started his demonstration on Thursday at Jyotiba Phule’s home in Phule Wada.
Sharad Pawar headlights
Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP), partners of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), have expressed alarm about purported EVM manipulation and said the polls were manipulated. In the Maharashtra Assembly, the Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP formed the Mahayuti coalition, which won 230 of the 288 seats, while the MVA only managed 46.
Speaking to reporters, Pawar admitted that there were “whispers” about vote rigging, but he claimed he lacked evidence to support the allegations.
“There is a rumor among the people that the recent Maharashtra elections witnessed’misuse of power’ and ‘floods of money,’ which was never seen in the past,” he continued. Polls at the municipal level mention such things, but it has never been observed to take control of the entire electoral process through financial means and abuse of authority. But we saw that happen in Maharashtra, and now people are restless.
Citing the dearth of opportunity for opposition leaders to address the issue in Parliament, the NCP leader voiced concern that the integrity of parliamentary democracy is under jeopardy.
