Maharashtra Congress chief urges ECI, SC to consider 'public demand' for ballot paper voting

Pic/X

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Sunday wrote to the Supreme Court (SC) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take note of the "growing public demand" for ballot paper voting, citing "doubts" surrounding the mandate in the state assembly elections, news agency PTI reported.

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has escalated its criticism of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) following the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti's victory in 230 out of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly.

Patole contended that the Mahayuti's victory did not reflect the true mandate of the people. "There is widespread confusion among the public about the new state government. A strong sentiment suggests that the government does not reflect the people's mandate," Patole told reporters, according to PTI.

Several opposition leaders, including Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, visited Markadwadi village in Solapur district to show solidarity with locals who had attempted to conduct a mock "repoll" using ballot papers, in an effort to question the credibility of EVMs.

"This public sentiment is not limited to Markadwadi; it resonates across villages in Maharashtra. The demand for voting via ballot papers is growing, with village sabhas passing resolutions to this effect," Patole claimed. He urged the ECI and SC to take note of this public sentiment.

Patole, who won his seat by a narrow margin, stated that the doubt among voters about whether their vote reached the intended candidate needs to be addressed, PTI reported. "Residents of Markadwadi had resolved to conduct a mock re-poll using ballot papers, but the government, with the help of the Election Commission and police, suppressed their efforts and filed cases against them," he alleged.

Patole also sought clarification from the EC on the "addition of 7.6 million votes". "They have failed to provide a satisfactory explanation. Manipulating votes is akin to the daylight murder of democracy. If such dissatisfaction arises in a democracy, it must be addressed. The Opposition will fight for this demand in the legislature and on the streets," he added.

Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in India, stating that allegations of EVM tampering arise only when people lose. "What happens is, when you win the election, EVMs are not tampered with. When you lose the election, EVMs are tampered with," remarked a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and PB Varale.

In addition to demanding ballot paper voting, the plea also sought several directives, including a call for the EC to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor, or other material inducements to voters during elections.

(With PTI inputs)