A Samajwadi Party (SP) Member of Parliament on Tuesday in the Rajya Sabha raised doubts over the use of electronic voting machines (EVM) in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, adding that the Opposition must come together to boycott EVMs and demand a return to the paper ballot system.
Vishambar Prasad Nishad said that SP leader Akhilesh Yadav had secured the majority votes among postal ballots in 304 Assembly seats. He made the remarks while participating in a discussion on the working of the Tribal Affairs Ministry.
Mr. Nishad demanded that there should be a census for Scheduled Tribes. He said the ‘Eklavya model’ schools meant for tribal students were mostly located in areas that had a majority population belonging to the general category.
“They know that educated people will raise questions but the unlettered won’t. Today, the poor have been left to depend on 5 kg of free rice and salt. Adivasis have lost their trust. Just like mobile phones, an EVM also has a software...till the time paper ballots return, the trust will not be restored,” he said.
Mr. Nishad added that the privatisation of companies will lead to the eradication of reservation. “Those who invented the EVM have gone back to ballot papers….in U.P., Akhilesh Yadav- ji got majority of postal ballot votes in 304 seats. He secured 51.5% vote percentage, but he was made to lose by EVMs,” he said.
In the 403-seat U.P. Assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 255 seats, while the SP won 111 seats.
