Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara blames EVMs for MVA rout in Maharashtra; seeks return to ballot paper

Bengaluru: Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday blamed the Maharashtra poll debacle on alleged EVM manipulations and sought a return to the ballot paper.

Speaking to reporters, he said: "They may ask why no manipulation happened in Jharkhand. There, the JMM is the leading partner and not Congress. Had it been Congress, something may have happened. The BJP has a plan of action where they decide in what situation, which state and which constituency to manipulate. They leave some constituencies to show that there has been no manipulation."

"In a meeting with our leaders yesterday in Mumbai, we decided that as long as EVMs are there, it will be difficult for Congress or other parties to come to power," the Home minister added.

Noting that ballot paper was being used in America, Europe and so on, Parameshwara recalled that a committee by the AICC had requested the EC to remove EVMs, a request that he said, went unheeded. 

"Why cannot we go back to the ballot paper? Did we not have successful elections since 1952? I also feel that it's better to return to the ballot paper since all doubts will then go away," he said.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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