Ajit Pawar claims "no debt to anyone" after 35 years of allegations, downplaying MCC breach in "vote for funds" slip during Malegaon Panchayat campaign.
At Jintur event, mocks media fixation and NGO meddling, admits errors in public service but insists clean slate amid NCP's civic poll push.
Fuels MVA complaints of inducement as Mahayuti eyes December 2 sweep; underscores Pawar's graft-proof narrative in graft-plagued political saga.
I Owe No Debt Despite Decades of Allegations: Ajit Pawar On 'Vote for Funds' Remark
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar brushes off backlash over linking votes to development funds, claiming a clean conscience after 35 years of scrutiny, as NCP ramps up civic poll blitz amid MCC shadow.
Summary
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Monday staunchly defended his eyebrow-raising "vote for funds" comment, declaring that despite enduring decades of baseless accusations, he harbors "no debt to anyone", a pointed riposte to critics accusing him of flouting the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the heated run-up to December 2 local body elections. Speaking at a bustling rally in Jintur, Parbhani district, the NCP (Ajit faction) supremo acknowledged the relentless media glare on his every utterance about allocations, quipping, "If anything happens, they now immediately remember Ajit Pawar." He reiterated his reverence for MCC boundaries, conceding that "one who works may make errors," but underscored his unblemished ledger after 35 years in the trenches, framing the uproar as yet another salvo from detractors wary of his development-driven governance.
The controversy erupted on Friday when Pawar, campaigning for NCP candidates in Malegaon Nagar Panchayat under Baramati tehsil, his political cradle, vowed ample funding for infrastructure if locals backed his party, but a curt "rejection" if they snubbed it, igniting charges of inducement from rivals like Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress. Pawar, who orchestrated the NCP's seismic 2023 split to align with the BJP-led Mahayuti, has long been dogged by graft shadows—from the 2012 irrigation scam to recent cooperative bank probes, yet emerged unscathed, often touting his "no favors owed" mantra as proof of integrity. His Monday retort, laced with defiance, also took swipes at "fake allegations" peddled by certain NGOs, whom he accused of spiking activities to derail Mahayuti's civic sweep in 29 municipal bodies, including powerhouses like BMC and Pune.
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