Post-debacle, Shiv Sena (UBT) questions reliability of EVMs

Opposition questions Maharashtra election results, alleging EVM manipulation, prompting debate on electoral transparency and integrity.

Following the Mahayuti’s landslide victory in the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Opposition has questioned the authenticity and transparency of the electoral process.

Fresh allegations are made in the Shiv Sena (UBT)’s mouthpiece, Saamana, published on Wednesday (November 27, 2024), calling the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance’s win in the election a ‘bumper lucky draw’. The editorial column has raised serious allegations on the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) stating a tagline in the article, ‘EVM hai to mumkin hai‘, implying that anything is possible with EVMs.  

The Mahayuti coalition comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The Opposition coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and the NCP (SP). The Mahayuti scored a massive 230 seats out of 288 whereas, the MVA managed to win only 46 seats in the Assembly election held on November 20, 2024.  

The editorial said that while Elon Musk, the U.S.-based billionaire, recently praised the swift vote counting process in India, comparing the process with the slow-paced presidential vote counting in the United States, a few months ago, Mr. Musk had claimed in a statement that EVMs can be hacked too. The article then said that even ordinary Indians are “dumbstruck” by the functioning of the EVMs.  

How did the ruling Mahayuti win this “bumper lucky draw” of 230 out of 288 seats? the article questioned. There are concerns over the “Gujarat-Rajasthan connection” of the EVMs used in Maharashtra, the article said, alleging there is a mismatch between the voting figure and votes counted by EVMs in the 95 constituencies, mystery of charging of the batteries used in EVMs and many other things strengthen suspicion about an ‘EVM scam’.  

In a meeting on Tuesday (November 26, 2024), Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray asked all the losing candidates to file applications with the Election Commission for the verification of the EVMs and voter-verifiable paper audit trail units.  

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday (November 27, 2024) said the Opposition must spend time introspecting the situation instead of blaming the EVMs. Speaking to reporters in Nagpur, Mr. Bawankule said, “Five months ago, 31 MPs of the Maha Vikas Aghadi were elected during the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Why did they not question the authenticity of EVMs then? They are just wasting people’s time, causing unnecessary mess instead of spending time introspecting the cause of their loss in the election. With such a mindset and attitude, they are going to lose the future elections too.”