Ajit Pawar says EVMs trustworthy, NCP says ‘use ballot paper’

Ajit Pawar’s “clean chit” to EVMs comes days after he credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma for the BJP’s victory in 2014 polls.

“I trust EVMs. A single person cannot manipulate EVMs. It’s a big system and multiple checks are involved. However, the party which faces defeat in polls blames the voting machine but one should understand that the poll outcome is the mandate of the people,” Ajit Pawar told media.

He was responding to a query on an editorial published in Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece Saamana, which claimed the BJP wins elections by “hacking” EVMs and congratulated Bangladesh poll body for “doing away with EVMs and deciding to use ballot papers for the next elections”.

“Had EVMs been defective, opposition parties couldn’t have formed governments in various states including Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu etc. A single person can’t manipulate EVMs in a huge country like India,” he said.

However, Mahesh Tapase, chief spokesperson of the NCP, in a press release, said: “Bangladesh has recently banned EVMs and it is all set to go for general elections using ballot paper. Many developed countries in the world have banned the use of EVMs, doubting the authenticity of the same.  In India, the united Opposition has time and again expressed concerns regarding EVMs…”

“If the BJP is so confident of returning to power in 2024, they should dispel all doubts in the minds of civil society and political parties and face the electorate using the ballot paper… or does the BJP fear that it will not cross the 150 mark,” he added.