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For the first time, Sharad Pawar has been politically assassinated, says BJP leader
At a public meeting organised by the BJP in support of EVMs, the politicians called Pawar a “cunning wolf”, “untrustworthy” and a “betrayer”
Only days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the political discourse in Maharashtra is deteriorating and needs to be restored, two politicians from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) used harsh and offensive language to attack Nationalist Congress Party (SP) Sharad Pawar.
Their attack on the senior politician has drawn criticism even from their political allies.
At a public meeting organised by the BJP in Markadwadi village, in Solapur district, in support of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the politicians called Pawar a “cunning wolf”, “untrustworthy” and a “betrayer”.
They also claimed the BJP had “committed his political murder” in the recent assembly elections.
READ | Sharad Pawar visits Markadwadi, vows to fight for ballot paper elections
It was the first time leaders of the ruling Mahayuti coalition visited Makarwadi, which has become a symbol of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi’s campaign against the alleged manipulation of EVMs in the recent state elections.
The MVA launched its campaign in Makarwadi, which falls under the Malshiras assembly constituency, by demanding a mock re-election via ballot paper on December 3.
On Tuesday’s meeting, organised by the BJP to counter the MVA’s narrative, newly elected BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar said of Pawar, “Ask your daughter (Supriya Sule), grand-nephew (Rohit Pawar) and Jayant Patil (NCP-SP leader) to resign from the position before opposing the EVM.
Patil, who had come to Markadwadi a few days, is also ‘neech’ (despicable) and ‘jaatiwadi’ (casteist) like Pawar,” Padalkar alleged, during his address.
He didn’t stop there. “I know that Sharad Pawar has hijacked sugar factories, Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, spinning mill and the Yashwatrao Chavan Pratishthan but this ‘labaad’ (cunning) ‘landga’ (wolf) is trying to hijack the movement of Markadwadi, which surprised me,” said Padalkar, a first-time MLA from the Jat assembly constituency in Sangli district.
In a double-whammy, former minister Sadabhau Khot too ripped into Pawar during his public address in the village.
“He (Pawar) came to this village because he has been politically assassinated for the first time in the last 50 to 60 years. This is why he is mourning and we must console him,” said Khot, a farmer leader who has joined the BJP.
The scathing remarks from the two BJP leaders were at odds with Fadnavis’s concern for the deteriorating standards of political discourse, which he said had worsened during the recent state elections.
“I appeal to all parties to help restore the culture for which Maharashtra was known in the past,” he said.
Both NCP factions have reacted to the disparaging remarks against Pawar. Suraj Chavan, spokesperson of the NCP, a political ally of the BJP in the Mahayuti government, said, “The political culture of Maharashtra should not be destroyed by them. In a democracy, the opposition must be respected and the BJP leaders should not hurt the values given to us by our elders. Differences of ideology should be fought ideologically and personal attacks should be avoided.”
The NCP (SP) believes the attack on Pawar is an attempt to curry favour with the government.
“People try to get free publicity and popularity by taking Pawar Saheb’s name. Leaders like Padalkar and others want to score brownie points because they are angling for ministerial posts and other important positions, and thus trying to to grab the spotlight. And the BJP is using them because of their nuisance value. It is nothing more than that, which is why we are not paying attention to them,” said Clyde Crasto, national spokesperson, NCP (SP).
Markadwadi, now synonymous with a growing anti-EVM drive, has become a political hotspot. Apart from the public meeting organised by the BJP, state Congress chief Nana Patole visited the village on Tuesday.
Patole told villagers he would resign as MLA if the Election Commission decided to conduct polls via ballot paper.
“Some BJP members have said that the opposition leaders should resign first and then talk about EVMs. We all know that the Election Commission is their puppet, so let them declare that they are ready to hold elections on ballot papers. There are many leaders such as me and Uttamrao Jankar, who are prepared to resign as MLAs,” he said.
Patole also announced a long march on the lines of his party’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, this one starting from Markadwadi.
Patole also demanded that the administration drop the cases they had filed against the villages, which had planned a mock re-election on December 3.
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar held a meeting with party candidates who were defeated in the recent state elections, in New Delhi on Tuesday.
READ | 'Stop crying': Maharashtra deputy CM Eknath Shinde asks opposition to stop ‘misleading’ people about EVMs
“Most of the candidates raised doubts about EVMs. Many of them found that the battery of EVMs was almost 90% even after working for more than 10 to 12 hours, which is not possible,” said a leader who attended the meeting.
“We have decided to file a joint petition of candidates who were defeated with the help of EVMs in the state assembly elections,” said Prashant Jagtap, NCP (SP) candidate who lost the Hadapsar seat to NCP’s Chetan Tupe.
The decision was taken at a meeting of defeated candidates from the NCP (SP) in New Delhi, called by Sharad Pawar. The petition will be filed by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, added Jagtap.
Another village passes a resolution in favour of ballot papers
Interestingly, the Kolewadi gram sabha in Satara district on Monday passed a resolution to conduct future elections on ballot papers. It is the second village after Markadwadi to denounce EVMs. Kolewadi falls under the Karad South assembly constituency, from where senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan lost the election by 39,355 votes.
