INDIA bloc to move SC over alleged EVM tampering in Maharashtra polls

The decision to file a petition was made at a meeting this evening between NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, Delhi's former Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and senior Congress leader and noted lawyer Abhishek Singhvi.

This move comes after the Opposition, including the NCP, suffered a humiliating defeat in Maharashtra and they felt some advance planning is required with the approaching assembly election in Delhi.

Kejriwal's AAP has won the last two assembly elections in Delhi, but this time, many AAP leaders conceding thatthe threat from the BJP is far "more serious" this time. The BJP is hoping to cash in on the corruption allegations against the leaders of the ruling party including Kejriwal.

This decision was revealed by Prashant Jagtap, leader of the NCP-Sharad Pawar. Jagtap lost the assembly elections from the Hadapsar seat in Pune.

In the meeting, Jagtap alleged that names of voters were deleted and added in Maharashtra until three days before polling day. "We have data to back our claim," Jagtap pointed out, according to news reports.

Also read: ‘No mismatch between VVPAT slips and EVM numbers’: Maharashtra’s chief electoral officer

SC backs EVMs

The Supreme Court, however, has backed Electronic Voting Machines in several judgments.

During a recent hearing, the judges had criticised petitioners for alleging EVM tampering, asking whether EVMs are not tampered when they win?

"EVMs offer significant advantages. They have effectively eliminated booth capturing by restricting the rate of vote casting to four votes per minute, thereby prolonging the time needed and thus checking insertion of bogus votes," the court had said during a hearing earlier this year.

Further, the court added that EVMs have also eliminated invalid votes, which were a major issue with paper ballots and had often sparked disputes during the counting process.

The Election Commission, however, on Tuesday confirmed that no discrepancies were found during the mandatory counting of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The verification process was conducted across all 288 constituencies, countering allegations of tampering raised by the Opposition alliance MVA.

Also read: Maharashtra: As Cong pushes for ballots, EVM-VVPAT tally matches in Nanded

A sore issue

EVMs have been a sore issue between the Opposition INDIA bloc and the NDA. The Opposition has accused the NDA of manipulating the election process and EVMs during the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly elections, to favour the government.

In Haryana, for example, the exit polls had predicted a sweeping mandate for the Opposition in Haryana. However, the BJP got 48 seats in the 90-member Assembly while the Congress got only 37.

The Congress had even started distributing sweets and was embarrassed after the counting of votes which placed them in the second position.

The party, which had done well in the Lok Sabha polls, emerged second-best in Haryana. In Maharashtra too, exit polls had predicted a close contest in the state. However, the Mahayuti returned to power with a thumping majority, winning 235 seats in the 288-member Assembly.

Referring to the drastic difference in INDIA bloc’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls and the assembly elections, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked, "How could they (the ruling alliance) win so many seats in just a matter of four months? Where did they light candles for such a result?"

The BJP has defended itself pointing out that INDIA bloc has not questioned the legitimacy of EVMs in Jharkhand or Jammu and Kashmir, where they were voted to power.