Fadnavis alleges Congress indulged in ‘vote theft’, cites Satara MLA’s claims

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis accused the Congress of “vote theft,” citing BJP MLA Atul Bhosale’s claims against Prithviraj Chavan’s associates. He urged Rahul Gandhi to respond, while also seeking Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s support for NDA vice-presidential nominee C P Radhakrishnan

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday slammed the Congress over its “vote theft” allegations, claiming that a BJP MLA from Satara district has exposed how the opposition party itself indulges in such fraudulent means.

Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said BJP MLA Atul Bhosale has exposed how family members and associates of former CM and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan were involved in voting in more than one place.

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Bhosale defeated Chavan from the Karad South assembly constituency in the November 2024 state polls. “The Congress stands exposed. Our MLA (Bhosale) has clearly shown how the Congress is indulging in vote theft. It is up to Rahul Gandhi to respond to this revelation,” he said.

Earlier this month, Gandhi made allegations of “vote chori” in elections, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the ruling BJP. He claimed that the poll body has not performed its duty of enforcing the ‘one man, one vote’ principle.

The Congress leader cited data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls to claim that more than 1 lakh votes were “stolen” through five types of manipulation in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka.

Replying to a question about the upcoming vice-presidential elections, Fadnavis said he has spoken to Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar and sought their support to NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan.

“Election for the post of vice-president is non-partisan. There is no whip. I told them that since they espouse the Marathi and Maharashtra asmita (pride), they should support him. Radhakrishnan is Maharashtra Governor and a registered voter in Mumbai,” he said.

“Uddhav Thackeray said he will discuss the matter with others, while Sharad Pawar said since the Opposition had also fielded its candidate, he would go with the opposition,” he said. On the criticism against NCP MP Sunetra Pawar, wife of Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, over her participation in an RSS event in Delhi, Fadnavis asked, “Is RSS a banned organisation?”

“I am proud to be an RSS swayamsevak (volunteer) as it has taught me nationalism and all inclusive development,” he said. Talking about Raj Thackeray’s meeting with him on Thursday, he said Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief made some good suggestions about traffic and the government will try to implement it. When there are heavy rains with severe intensity in a short span of time, infrastructure will be impacted, he said, adding that his government was working to improve the system.