Nationalist Congress Party (NCP SP) chief Sharad Pawar has claimed that before the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, two individuals approached him with a "guarantee" to help win 160 out of the 288 seats by manipulating votes, reported the IANS.

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asked why Pawar spoke up only now about two men meeting him and offering to ensure the Opposition's victory in the last year's state elections.

"Why is Pawar disclosing this after Rahul Gandhi's claims? Earlier Pawar never endorsed Gandhi's claims about (manipulation of) EVMs. No matter what, free and fair polls are held in India... Gandhi tells stories that sound like a Salim-Javed script, and what Pawar has said seems to be the same script," CM Fadnavis told reporters in Mumbai, according to the PTI.