New Delhi: Possibly scared of Narendra Modi-led BJP's landslide victory in the recently concluded assembly elections in UP and Uttarakhand, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has now written a letter to the Election Commission urging it to use the ballot paper system instead of EVM machines in the soon-to-be-held civic election.
According to reports, Kejriwal has written to Chief Secretary asking him to urge the state Election Commission to use paper ballots instead of the EVMs in the MCD election.
Kejriwal has directed Chief Secretary MM Kutty to write to the State Election Commissioner asking him to hold the upcoming municipal elections through ballot papers.
“The state government recommendation comes following requests from several political parties to hold local body polls through ballot paper, as is done in many states,” an AAP functionary said.
The state election commission is likely to announce later today the date for election to the three municipal corporations likely in April this year.
Interestingly, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken too wrote to Kejriwal earlier today demanding the use of ballot papers instead of EVMs.
My Letter to Kejriwal to hold Delhi Municipal Elections through Ballot Paper-
It also indicates-how he is empowered and why should he do so? pic.twitter.com/sHVAMn587K— Ajay Maken (@ajaymaken) March 14, 2017
“Serious doubts have cropped up in the minds of voters as to the free and fair nature of electoral process. We demand that these elections should be held using the traditional ballot system,” he wrote.
The demands from Kejriwal and Maken came days after BSP supremo Mayawati had openly questioned the reliability of EVMs after BJP's historic victory in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
The BJP leaders have been criticising such demands arguing that if EVMs could be tampered in favour of the ruling party at the Centre, how did Mahagathbandhan (coalition of JD (U), RJD and Congress in Bihar) and AAP recorded clean sweep in Bihar and Delhi assembly elections in 2015.
Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari told ANI that Kejriwal should also demand re-election in 67 of the 70 assembly seats in Delhi from where his party won in 2014.
If Kejriwal ji does not have faith in EVMs then let us have re polling on the 67 assembly seats he won-Manoj Tiwari,BJP pic.twitter.com/jWhrKSXQoE
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 14, 2017
Though the AAP leadership has desisted from attributing the party’s loss in Punjab to faulty EVMs, Kejriwal retweeted former co-worker Prashant Bhushan’s tweet targeting BJP on the issue on Tuesday.
“Those who screamed “democracy at risk due to EVMs” while in Opposition, are now celebrating “democracy by EVMs”, once in power,” Bhushan tweeted.
