Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar stated on Wednesday that funding for state development initiatives will be provided if the voters select the ruling Mahayuti alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, PTI reported.
The Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar, the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Shiv Sena group led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde make up the state-level alliance.
Ajit Pawar reportedly said that his alliance would sanction as much funds as needed for development projects, The Times of India reported. “But if we are giving funds, we expect you to press the button next to our candidate’s symbol [on the Electronic Voting Machine] in the elections so that I will feel good about giving funds,” he said. “Otherwise, my hand will be restricted.”
He made the comments during a public meeting at Indapur town in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency.
Further, citing the sex ratio decline in several regions, he said “If it remains like this, it will be critical in the future,” adding that it may turn out to be a “Draupadi-like situation”.
Draupadi is a character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata who had five husbands.
Responding to Ajit Pawar’s comments, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) leader Sushma Andhare said: “If the deputy chief minister makes such an irresponsible statement about women, then it is clear that women are being used as a political tool.”
Leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), Rohit Pawar, said that the deputy chief minister had violated the Model Code of Conduct by threatening to withhold money from voters if they did not support him.
He posted on social media, saying, “The Election Commission should take serious note of this.”
