Faced with alleged EVM manipulation, MVA to launch mass campaign

MUMBAI: After its crushing defeat in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has got down to the business of waging a war against EVMs. MVA leaders are planning a campaign seeking the removal of EVMs from the voting process and a return to ballot papers.
In separate meetings held by the MVA’s three parties on Tuesday, the issue of EVM transparency was the central focus. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge proposed launching a campaign similar to the Bharat Jodo Yatra to push for ballot paper voting. Meanwhile, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray stressed the importance of gathering evidence to substantiate claims of irregularities, and advised their candidates to request audits of 5% of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips. Pawar also asked his colleagues to prepare a team of legal experts to present their case in court.
In Pawar’s meeting, most defeated NCP (SP) candidates blamed alleged EVM tampering for their loss, and said that action was necessary against EVMs, else it would become difficult for them to win elections. The NCP won only 10 of the 86 seats it contested.
The party’s Ahmednagar MP Nilesh Lanke said that the results had shocked them. “At many places, there is a difference between the voting turnout and the EVM-counted votes,” he said. “In my constituency, there are villages that give me a lead of 1,000 to 1,500 votes but the EVMs showed a lead of 100 votes. All this is extremely suspicious.”
Two NCP (SP) MLAs Jitendra Awhad and Rohit Pawar also opposed EVM use. “We demand that either ballot papers be brought back or all VVPAT slips be counted, because right now there is no transparency,” Awhad told reporters. Pawar said there was no turning back. “We have to fight it out,” the NCP (SP) chief reportedly told his partymen, adding that they would fight on the issue at the national level as well.
With the Congress bagging only 16 of 101 seats it contested, state Congress president Nana Patole, after his meeting with Rahul Gandhi, also emphasised the need to start a mass movement against EVMs. “People are saying that they voted for X but the vote was marked in the name of Y,” he said. “But no one is listening to us on this. The Supreme Court has asked us to prove it. So clearly, except for a mass movement, there is no other way to go forward.”
The Shiv Sena (UBT) too fielded 95 candidates but won only 20 seats. During Thackeray’s meeting with the losing candidates on Tuesday, Vasant Gite (Nashik Central), Sudhakar Badgujar (Nashik West), and Deepesh Mhatre (Dombivli) expressed their doubts regarding the EVMs. “Many candidates reported issues related to the EVMs and discrepancies in the voting and counting process,” said Mhatre.
Thackeray, after hearing out his colleagues, said that proving the allegations with evidence was critical to addressing the issue. “Complaints regarding EVM tampering and irregularities must be substantiated with concrete proof,” he said. “Gather all the necessary data and apply for the counting of 5% of VVPAT slips. Once we have the evidence, we will consult legal experts and bring the matter to the attention of MVA leaders.”
Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the legislative council, described some of the candidates’ experiences as “alarming”. “At one particular booth, a candidate noticed that he and the ruling party candidate had the exact same number of votes,” he said. “In another instance, the tally of votes was less than the number of family members who had reportedly voted for the candidate. There were also complaints about electronic devices being seized near counting stations.”