NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday questioned the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs), with both leaders calling for greater voter confidence in the electoral process.Yadav said the Samajwadi Party would oppose EVMs even if it won “all seats” in an election. Questioning the need for multiple layers of technology in voting, he pointed to countries such as the US and Germany, which he said use ballot papers.“Why is there a need for a machine after a machine?” he asked at a press conference at the party headquarters.“We have already told you that even if we win all the seats, we are against EVMs,” Yadav said.He also questioned whether the US uses ballot papers despite India’s ties with Washington. Citing Germany as another example, Yadav said the country had not adopted EVMs despite being advanced in technology and research.Mayawati, meanwhile, said voters must be confident that their votes cannot be diverted or counted in favour of another candidate. She said any such doubt could undermine public faith in the democratic system.“It is crucial that the voter harbours no doubt that their vote might have been diverted to or counted for another candidate; such an occurrence would effectively amount to the murder of democracy and would destroy the people’s faith in the democratic system,” news agency ANI quoted her as saying.Mayawati recalled that ballot papers were used for several decades after India’s first election before EVMs were introduced. She also pointed to the BJP’s earlier opposition to EVMs when the Congress was in power, saying the party had alleged that the machines were being misused.“However, surprisingly, after winning the election and forming the central govt, the BJP did not abolish EVMs; instead, it has continued the practice of voting and counting via these very machines,” she said.
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The remarks came amid a wider political debate over the Election Commission and its handling of electoral rolls, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Election Commission has rejected suggestions that reported objections raised by election commissioners over aspects of the SIR process amounted to institutional dissent, saying inputs and suggestions during the draft stage are part of its regular decision-making process.Yadav also said the SP had already worked out its strategy against the BJP and claimed voters would remove the party from power.“We have already made our strategy to remove the BJP. And without removing the BJP, you cannot remove anyone. The real crisis is the BJP. Once the BJP is removed, all institutions will be fine,” he said.“The BJP will be removed on its own. The people are ready to remove it this time,” he said.
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