Opposition Will Blame EVMs After Defeat in Lok Sabha Election: Amit Shah
The BJP president said if opposition parties kept finding the reasons for their defeat in EVMs, their defeat is certain in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
By Rakesh Raman
BJP president Amit Shah has advised the opposition parties that instead of blaming the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for their defeats in elections, they should listen to the voters.
Amit Shah – who was participating in a TV debate – tweeted Tuesday that opposition parties start blaming EVMs after every election. But, he said, they forget that they themselves win elections with the same EVMs.
He counted the examples of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi as well as Congress that has formed the governments in Punjab and Karnataka by winning the elections with EVMs.
The BJP president said if opposition groups kept finding the reasons for their defeat in EVMs, their defeat is certain in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
BJP and EVMs
Although the ruling party BJP of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in favor of EVMs, the opposition parties have raised serious doubts about the security of these machines.
Major political parties in India have repeatedly complained about the vulnerability of EVMs. It is also being observed that when EVMs malfunction, they vote only in favor of Modi’s BJP which runs with Lotus election symbol.
Earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati had complained about the EVM-based voting fraud in the Uttar Pradesh (U.P) election. But India’s Election Commission had rejected her complaint.
As the vulnerabilities of EVMs are becoming quite visible, besides Mayawati other politicians have been demanding voting on traditional ballot papers.
This article is part of our exclusive editorial section that focuses on Lok Sabha Election 2019 in India.
The president of Delhi State Congress, Ajay Maken, had said that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) election should be held on traditional ballot papers instead of EVMs.
Maken had asked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to support the demand to hold MCD election on ballot papers because many people have raised doubts about EVMs.
विपक्ष के लोग हर बार चुनाव हारने के बाद EVM का बहाना लेकर बैठ जाते हैं पर वो यह भूल जातें हैं कि वो खुद इसी EVM के द्वारा सरकार बना चुके हैं। मैं विपक्ष से कहना चाहता हूं कि अगर वो अपनी हार का जवाब जनता की जगह EVM में ही ढूंढते रहेंगे तो 2019 में भी उनकी हार निश्चित है। pic.twitter.com/ZiLFO9XAdU
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 7, 2018
The election authorities – which work under Modi government – refused to entertain the opposition complaints. The MCD election was held on EVMs. Obviously, BJP won.
It is expected that despite the complaints from opposition parties, the Election Commission of India will hold the Lok Sabha election with EVMs. Therefore, BJP can once again hope to win.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
