Offering of 160 Seats by Sharad Pawar Arises After Rahul Gandhi's Major Accusation
In a significant turn of events, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar has publicly supported Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. Gandhi, the Congress leader, has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of irregularities, including duplicate entries, fake addresses, and bulk registrations.
During a press conference in Delhi, Gandhi presented evidence of these alleged irregularities. In response, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka and the ECI have issued notices, asking Gandhi to submit documentary evidence under oath within 10 days. The CEO's preliminary inquiry found no evidence of duplicate voting in specific cases raised, and the Commission has challenged Gandhi to provide relevant documents or withdraw his allegations.
Sharad Pawar, expressing his support for Gandhi, stated that he witnessed Gandhi's detailed press conference and found some allegations to have factual merit. Pawar highlighted the claim of multiple people voting from a single residence as particularly concerning, emphasising the need for a thorough investigation.
The ECI, however, has so far rejected the allegations, conducting a preliminary check that found no evidence of duplicate voting in specific cases raised. The Commission has demanded legally-binding proof or an apology from Gandhi.
Pawar, in his stance, believes that there should be no need for Rahul Gandhi to take a separate oath, as he has already taken one as a Member of Parliament. He also suggested that there is a need to go deeper into the issues raised by Gandhi. If the truth is not being told, it should come forward, according to Pawar.
Meanwhile, the BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of insulting the people by calling the party's election victory a "fraud." In response, Devendra Fadnavis, the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, questioned why Pawar is speaking up only after meeting Gandhi.
In a separate development, Pawar stated that he was offered victory in 160 seats in the 2024 Maharashtra polls but declined the offer. He also clarified that he and Rahul Gandhi decided not to get involved in the offer of winning 160 assembly seats in Maharashtra polls.
As the standoff between the Opposition and the Election Commission continues, all the Opposition's colleagues in Parliament have decided to march to the Election Commission, following Pawar's call. The Commission is yet to respond to these demands.
[1] The Hindu
[2] NDTV
[3] The Times of India
[4] India Today
[5] The Indian Express
[1] The ongoing allegations of vote theft during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, raised by Rahul Gandhi and supported by Sharad Pawar, are dominating the news landscape, being covered extensively in general news, politics, and crime-and-justice sections of various media outlets such as The Hindu,NDTV, The Times of India, India Today, and The Indian Express.
[2] As the standoff between the Election Commission and the Opposition parties, led by Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, continues, policy-and-legislation discussions are revolving around the need for stricter voter verification measures to prevent such irregularities in future elections. Furthermore, war-and-conflicts analysts have started to draw parallels between the domestic political clash over election integrity and the international landscape of voter fraud disputes.
