Maharashtra votes today in high-stakes civic polls, Ajit Pawar raises scam, BJP hits back

Mumbai: Just hours before voting for civic elections, Nationalist Congress Party leader and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday accused the previous Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government of being involved in alleged irrigation scam.

Ajit's allegation has once again raised questions on the unity of the Mahayuti alliance. Speaking at a press conference in Pune, Ajit claimed, "After the 1995-1999 Shiv Sena-BJP government was voted out of power, I was handed over (under Congress-NCP rule) the Krishna Valley Development Corporation . At that time, the Purandar Lift Irrigation scheme was cleared by the previous Sena-BJP government. However, after I learnt about the ₹330 crore cost for the project, I scrapped it. The revised tender was for ₹220 crore. Later on, officials told me about the initial cost being inflated by the previous government."

He added, "Officials told me that the ₹100 crore cost escalation was meant for the party fund while additional ₹10 crore was added by officials for their own kickbacks." He further alleged, "The file is still with me, with the signatures (of the then BJP minister)... There were many such issues (irregularities) that came before me. This is just one that I am talking about now. If I had then raised the issue, then it could have caused a huge ruckus."


Ajit's claim is significant as he has unequivocally targeted the BJP as the irrigation department in 1995-99 was with the BJP. The attempt is clearly aimed at shifting BJP's entire narrative on corruption and the irrigation scam which the latter had once accused Ajit of allegedly being involved in. The deputy chief minister seemed to be sending a message to the BJP that he too can bring skeletons from their closet if he is being targeted.

During the recent Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal polls, Ajit had called the administration in these two civic bodies as "highly corrupt". The BJP had then hit back at Ajit, warning him that the probe in the ₹70,000 crore irrigation case was still pending in the courts, meaning he could be made an accused again.

The NCP leader's claim also came hours after DesignBoxed, a political consultancy firm that has been providing its services to the NCP (Ajit), was raided and searched by the Pune Crime Branch on Tuesday.

Maharashtra's revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule (from BJP) questioned Ajit's remarks, saying, "From 1999 to 2026, a lot of time has passed... We would have understood if he had made these comments in 1999. Maybe he knows his party is losing in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad and hence he is making these remarks."

While the BJP played it safe, Shiv Sena leader Shahajibapu Patil attacked Ajit and said,"Ajit should be the last person to say all this. In pachegaon, the Shiv Sena-BJP government in 1995-99 had floated a tender for a tunnel at ₹350 crore, however, when the Congress-NCP government came, Ajit hiked the cost of the project to ₹1,850 crore. His hands are not clean."