Raut echoes Pawar’s claim of ‘seat guarantee’ offer, says Thackeray refused EVM help
Mumbai: A day after NCP founder Sharad Pawar claimed that two individuals had approached him and Rahul Gandhi with a promise of securing 160 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut made a similar claim on Sunday. He stated that former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was also approached with a similar offer ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. However, Mr. Thackeray declined, reaffirming his faith in democracy and expressing confidence that his party would perform well — which it did in Maharashtra during the Lok Sabha polls. Mr. Raut further alleged that the same individuals later contacted Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, asking for a list of 60 to 65 challenging constituencies and offering help to win them.
However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned why these senior leaders had not approached the police or the Election Commission of India (ECI) with their complaints.
On Saturday, Mr. Pawar stirred political circles by claiming that he had introduced the two individuals to Rahul Gandhi, who had allegedly guaranteed the opposition’s victory in 160 out of 288 seats. However, both leaders had rejected the offer, stating their preference for seeking public support directly instead of engaging in questionable methods.
Mr. Raut, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, reiterated that the same individuals had approached Mr. Thackeray before the Lok Sabha elections. According to him, Mr. Thackeray declined the offer, emphasising his faith in the democratic process.
“Some people came to Mr. Thackeray in my presence during the Lok Sabha elections. Mr. Thackeray told them clearly that we believe in democracy. Given the political climate at the time, we were confident of winning the Lok Sabha elections and we did win in Maharashtra. Later, ahead of the Assembly elections, these individuals approached him again. They said, ‘Tell us which 60–65 seats are difficult; we will help you win them through EVMs.’ We rejected the proposal, saying we did not need such help. They said even if we didn’t need it, those in power had already devised a plan involving EVMs and electoral rolls,” Mr. Raut said.
However, the MVA leaders have not disclosed the identity of the two individuals who guaranteed them the victory.
Mr. Raut also claimed the individuals warned of a potential opposition failure in the Assembly polls and offered assistance. “Still, we chose to trust the ECI and the democratic process. Unfortunately, there may have been some truth to what they were saying,” he added.
Responding to these claims, Mr. Fadnavis criticised the leaders for not formally reporting the alleged approach. “These are senior, responsible citizens. If someone approached them with such an offer, why didn’t they file a complaint with the police or the ECI? Did they use this offer back then and are only now disclosing it? These Salim-Javed-style stories should stop,” he said.
