Ready to give funds, but press EVM button in our favour: Ajit Pawar

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday said he was ready to sanction funds liberally for development, provided people showed the same generosity while voting for the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader, who claimed he was speaking in a lighter vein, later said he was only appealing to people to vote for the alliance. Pawar holds the finance portfolio in the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government.

"...As far as funds are concerned, we will cooperate to give you as much as you want, but at the same time, the EVM button needs to be pressed in abundance. If EVM button is pressed in abundance, I will also feel good allocating funds, or else, I will have to restrict myself," he said while addressing a gathering of lawyers and traders at Indapur in the district.

Speaking to reporters after the event, he said he was only making an appeal to voters to favour the Mahayuti and did not violate the model code of conduct.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, however, criticised Pawar over the statement, saying he was a "trader" and would only do trading.

Pawar's wife Sunetra, an NCP candidate, is locked in a high-profile electoral battle in Baramati Lok Sabha constituency against her sister-in-law and sitting MP Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP founder Sharad Pawar, now the chief of the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) faction.