Congress' Prithviraj Chavan seeks 100 pc VVPAT verification; claims EC has something to hide

Chavan was in the city to meet nonagenarian social activist Baba Adhav, who ended his protest on Saturday here against EVM 'irregularities' and alleged money power in politics.

Pune: Senior Congress leader and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Sunday batted for 100 per cent counting of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips.

Chavan alleged the Election Commission of India had something to hide though he did not elaborate.

The VVPAT is a vote verification mechanism that enables voters to see whether their votes have been recorded correctly by way of a slip that is briefly visible after the EVM button is pressed.

Chavan lost from Karad South to BJP's Atul Suresh Bhosale by a margin of 39,355 votes in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, results of which were announced on November 23.

He was in the city to meet nonagenarian social activist Baba Adhav, who ended his protest on Saturday here against EVM "irregularities" and alleged money power in politics.

"I am here to extend support to Baba Adhav. The results of the assembly elections are unexpected. Six months back, we got success in Lok Sabha polls (with Maha Vikas Aghadi winning 30 out of 48 seats). There was nothing as such due to which results would be so different in the assembly polls. We (MVA) had expected a change in the state," Chavan told reporters.

"Many persons have demanded that polls be conducted through ballot papers. I demand that each and every VVPAT slip must be counted. We have scheduled a meeting with the Election Commission of India (on this issue following Maharashtra polls)," he added.

"I don't know what the ECI will discuss with us on this issue but I will demand to count every receipt. I think there's something the Election Commission wants to hide," he said.

"If democracy has to be saved, then there is a strong need for change. I would like to thank Baba Adhav for his protest," the former Union minister said.

Adhav had started his protest on Thursday at Pune's Phule Wada, the residence of iconic social reformer Jyotiba Phule.

In April this year, the Supreme Court had rejected pleas seeking complete cross-verification of votes cast using electronic voting machines (EVMs) with VVPAT.