Mumbai: Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has urged the Supreme Court and the Election Commission to take note of the “growing public demand” for ballot paper voting in view of “doubts” about the mandate in assembly elections.The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi has upped the ante against electronic voting machines (EVMs) after the BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly elections.Patole on Sunday claimed the Mahayuti victory didn’t reflect the mandate of the people.”There is a widespread confusion among people about the new state government. A strong sentiment suggests that the government doesn’t reflect the people’s mandate,” Patole told reporters.Several leaders from opposition parties, including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, visited Markadwadi village in Solapur district to express solidarity with villagers who had tried to hold a mock “repoll” using ballot papers while questioning the EVM credibility.”This public sentiment is not confined to Markadwadi but resonates across villages in Maharashtra. A demand for conducting voting through ballot papers is growing, with village sabhas passing resolutions to this effect,” Patole claimed.He appealed to the Election Commission and the Supreme Court to take cognisance of this public sentiment.The Congress leader, who won the electoral contest by a wafer-thin margin, said the doubt among electors about their vote reaching the candidate of their choice should be resolved.”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 sought the Election Commission’s clarification 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,” Patole added.The Supreme Court last month dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with EVMs raked up only when people lose polls.”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 P B Varale.Apart from ballot paper voting, the plea sought several directions, including a directive to the Election Commission to disqualify candidates for a minimum of five years if found guilty of distributing money, liquor or other material inducement to the voters during polls.
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