Overview
- At a Malegaon campaign rally, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar told voters that electing all 18 candidates from his panel would ensure development money, saying, “You have votes, I have funds.”
- Pawar holds the state finance portfolio, a detail critics cited in accusing him of using public money as leverage in the December 2 Nagar Panchayat elections where his NCP faction is aligned with a BJP-backed panel.
- A video of the speech circulated widely online, prompting opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Ambadas Danve, to call the comments a threat and to question the Election Commission’s silence.
- Pawar defended the remarks on Sunday and again on Monday, insisting they were routine campaign talk and not a threat, and saying he respects the Model Code of Conduct.
- Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis downplayed the episode as typical poll rhetoric, while NCP (Sharad) leaders Supriya Sule and spokesperson Mahesh Tapase urged EC monitoring, action, and a public apology; no public EC move was reported in coverage.