INDIA Bloc To Approach Supreme Court Over Alleged EVM Manipulation

Mumbai: The opposition INDIA bloc in Maharashtra has decided to move to the Supreme Court over alleged manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the recent assembly elections. The decision to approach the top court was announced by Prashant Jagtap, leader of the NCP-Sharad Pawar who lost the assembly election from the Hadapsar seat in Pune.

The opposition including Sharad Pawar’s party had sustained heavy losses in Maharashtra and with the approaching assembly election in Delhi, the need was felt for some advance planning in this regard, the source indicated.

Read also: Opposition Attacks Fadnavis Government Over Ladki Bahin Scheme Scrutiny Move

This major decision was taken during the meeting between NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, and noted lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi.

The authenticity issue has blown up after the Maharashtra polls as over 20 candidates from opposition parties who lost the assembly elections raised serious concerns about the integrity of EVMs.

However, the Supreme Court had solidified its backing of the EVMs and even upheld their sanctity in several judgments.

The INDIA bloc had claimed that it lost the elections in Maharashtra due to alleged manipulation of EVMs in favour of the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition.

During a recent hearing, the judges had slammed the petitioner over the tampering allegations and the court further went on to ask if “EVMs are not tampered when you 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.

Moreover, the Election Commission rejected the Opposition allegations saying it has found “no mismatch” between the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips with their corresponding EVM numbers.

Read also: Congress Hits Back At BJP With Dr. Shamika Ravi And George Soros Connection

In the Maharashtra election held last month, the BJP-led coalition won 235 of the 288 assembly seats. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), upbeat after the Lok Sabha results, could only pick up 46.