India, Aug. 9 -- NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed he was offered a 'pre-poll seat guarantee deal' ahead of last year's Maharashtra Assembly elections, an offer he says he shared with Rahul Gandhi at the time. However, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissed the allegation as a "Salim-Javed script," questioning the timing of Pawar's disclosure

Fadnavis also linked Pawar's allegations to Rahul Gandhi's recent 'voter theft' accusations.

"Why is Pawar disclosing this after Rahul Gandhi's claims? Earlier, Pawar never endorsed Gandhi's claims about (manipulation of) EVMs. No matter what, free and fair polls are held in India. Gandhi tells stories that sound like a Salim-Javed script, and what Pawar has said seems t...