Amit Sana, the runner-up of Indian Idol Season 1, recently accused the channel of reportedly blocking his voting lines just two days before the season's finale in March 2005. The singing reality show is currently in the middle of its 14th season but after 19 years, Amit disclosed that the makers were partial with him and blocked his voting lines to favour Abhijeet Sawant, who was ultimately declared the winner of the show. In response, Abhijeet referred to Amit as 'naive' and asked him to focus on his future rather than making 'unfair' claims.
Abhijeet Sawant told News 18, "He (Amit Sana) is very naive. I have been to many competitions. There are several reasons why you lose a competition. It is not just one thing. He should not forget that he was the runner-up. It wasn’t like we both were the only talented boys in the show, there were several other talented people in that competition."
Responded to the allegations by Amit, Abhijeet stated "I feel, his people have conveyed such allegations to him and it can be sentimental also. It can be their own opinion also. The entire India was voting for us. How is it possible that one of us was getting votes and the other one wasn’t? Indian Idol 1 was also being monitored by the international team. I remember they used to be there on sets all the time."
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'Political Influence' behind Abhijeet's win?
Abhijeet Sawant responded to Amit Sana's suggestion of 'political influence' behind his win by deeming it unfair to delve into these matters at this point. He stated that engaging in discussions about such topics nearly two decades after the show holds "no sense." "I find it unfair to discuss such matters now," he stated.
Not just this, Abhijeet Sawant highlighted that such allegations regarding the legitimacy of his Indian Idol victory rose earlier too. He recalled an instance where a magazine published his photo with the caption 'The show is rigged'. "Such things keep happening. I remember there was a magazine which published my photo and wrote, ‘The show is rigged’. People are there to talk but as somebody who participated in the show, we should look at what we got from such shows and how we can take it forward rather than regretting about what was wrong," he added.