PUNE, 15 NOV. NCP President Sharad Pawar has expressed deep concern that if elections are conducted in a manner involving huge cash distribution, the public's trust in the electoral process will be shattered. He questioned whether the distribution of such a large amount of money is appropriate and urged experts and the Election Commission to consider this issue seriously. He emphasized that elections should be clean and transparent, a point on which there can be no disagreement. He stated that distributing sums like ten thousand rupees is not a small matter.
Recalling an anecdote, he said, "I used to oversee Baramati. Fifty years ago, whenever municipal elections came around, people used to wait on the day before voting. I don't need to explain what they were waiting for. Only after that distribution was done, we would know the election result, but that was on a small scale."
Pawar highlighted that currently, in almost all states across the country, 50% of the electorate consists of women. He asked if giving these women ₹10,000 each and then facing elections means that these elections are taking place in a transparent and clean environment. He concluded by stating that there are doubts in people's minds regarding the integrity of the process, and the Election Commission must take this into consideration.
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