Cong celebrated MLC poll win amid drought, says Bawankule

Nagpur: Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday alleged that Congress lured voters for Nagpur Graduates Constituency polls through “mutton parties” and later celebrated its win lavishly even as “farmers are facing drought”.The minister questioned how Congress can spend on unnecessary things while seeking additional help for farmers. “They talk about drought relief and throw mutton parties. After they won the seat, their celebrations were over-the-top. Congress members could have gone home quietly after victory became official,” said Bawankule.He also said Congress winning the MLC seat is not a big deal. “They have merely retained the seat. It would have assumed significance had they wrested the seat, like in 2020,” he said.The revenue minister added that Congress was always a second choice, but won on a technicality. “BJP came first on first-preference votes. Congress won by taking second-preference votes. All the anti-BJP candidates on the ballot paper gave their second preference to Congress. Still, we have to accept the result and move on,” he said.Dismissing the charge that a weak candidate cost BJP the seat, Bawankule defended Sudhakar Kohale, a former city BJP president and two-time MLA. “Looking at the number of votes he got. If Kohale was the wrong candidate, how did 64,000 voted for him?” he asked.Justifying Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across the country, Bawankule linked the low turnout to bloated rolls. “In Nagpur alone, there are 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh duplicate names and as many dead voters. Why do only 60% vote and not 100%? Names have been added to the list since 2002, but none have been deleted,” he said.Citing the example of Kamptee assembly constituency represented by him, the minister said voters have names in Kamptee, in Hudkeshwar and also in Jaiprakash Nagar. “People vote in a nagar panchayat and then come and vote in the municipal corporation. One person should vote only once,” said Bawankule.The minister accused Congress of winning through bogus voting. “This will become a thing of the past, because the coming voter list will be accurate,” he said.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in NagpurStay updated with the latest Nagpur news. Download the TOI App.