Vote theft: No meaning in Rahul Gandhi's allegations, says Ajit Pawar

Nagpur, Sep 18 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft were meaningless and asserted the opposition party came up with such issues only after electoral reverses.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting those who "destroyed democracy" and cited data from a Karnataka assembly constituency to claim votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

He also alleged voters were added in a fraudulent manner using automated software in Rajura seat.

"There is no meaning in what Rahul Gandhi says. They (Opposition) had no problem in the last Lok Sabha elections when the Maha Vikas Aghadi won 31 out of 48 seats in Maharashtra. Only after they lose, they come up with claims of irregularities," Pawar told reporters at the airport ahead of the NCP's 'Chintan Shibir' here on September 19.

"They (INDI bloc) also won in Karnataka, Telangana and Himachal Pradesh. Mamata Banerjee won a third term in West Bengal. The Aam Aadmi Party won two times in Delhi and once in Punjab. The NDA paid a heavy price in the Lok Sabha polls due to false narratives," Pawar said.

However, the false narrative of change in Constitution was countered effectively and with the help of some very good welfare schemes like the Ladki Bahin Yojana, the Mahayuti won the (2024) Maharashtra assembly polls, he added. PTI CLS BNM