You have votes, I have funds; if you reject, I will also reject: Ajit Pawar tells electors

Pune: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has told voters at Malegaon in the district that he will ensure there is no shortage of funds for the town if they elect the candidates of his party, but if they rejected them, he will also “reject”.

Pawar, who heads the Nationalist Congress Party, was campaigning for elections to the Malegaon Nagar Panchayat in Baramati tehsil on Friday.

Notably, he holds the finance portfolio in the BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena government.

“I will ensure there is no shortage of funds if you elect all 18 NCP candidates. If you elect all 18 candidates, I am committed to give whatever I have promised. But if you reject, I will also reject. You have votes, I have funds,” he said.

The remarks drew flak from the Opposition, with Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve accusing Pawar of threatening voters.

“Funds are given from the taxes paid by the common people and not from Ajit Pawar’s house. If a leader like Pawar is threatening voters, what is the Election Commission doing?” he asked.

Elections to Nagar Panchayats are scheduled for December 2. The Pawar-led NCP and a BJP-backed panel have formed an alliance in Malegaon.

Maharashtra CM downplays Pawar’s ‘funds’ remark

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the suggestion of discrimination as unintended rhetoric and asserted the government aims to develop all regions.

Fadnavis also dismissed reports of distrust with Dy CM and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde and called the speculation baseless, saying the two leaders continue to meet and interact regularly and that media claims of a rift are misleading.

“There is no reason why we should not talk. There is no such situation that the media is showing, and those people who are showing this will fall on their face,” the BJP leader said.

On Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani’s claims of discrimination against Muslims in India amid the Delhi blast probe, Fadnavis said, “Former President of India late APJ Abdul Kalam is the real icon of Muslims to whom we also bow with respect. He always held his head high, make him the icon, why make others the icon.”