Opposition raising EVM issue reflects their defeat: Vinod Tawde

Mumbai: A day after the Opposition parties, headed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar and Telugu Desam head Chandrababu Naidu, demanded 50 per cent counting of VVPATs and tallying of figures with electronic voting machines (EVMs) before the poll results were declared, the BJP on Wednesday said that such demand reflected that they were going to be defeated in the election.

Senior BJP leader and cabinet minister Vinod Tawde said that when the Election Commission of India (ECI) called all political parties and asked them to challenge its counting process, no party came forward. The NCP and CPI, parties that attended the meeting, said that they wanted to understand the process.

“When the time comes to fight, Mr Pawar leaves the battle. When the ECI called him, he did not go and now he is speaking,” he said.

Ashok Chavan, Mr Pawar and Mr Naidu were preparing reasons for their defeat by making such demands.

On Tuesday, the Oppos-ition parties raked up the EVM issue again, with demands to counter-check VVPAT slips to ensure transparency in the counting of votes.

Expressing concerns about the alleged tampering of EVM machines, Mr Pawar said that people were in a mood to change the Modi-led government but manipulation of EVMs was the only worrying factor.

Commenting on the Opposition’s allegations over manipulation of EVMs, the BJP leader said that the Opposition leaders were searching reasons for their defeat. “If they were aware about the EVMs’ manipulation, then why didn’t they approach the ECI when the ECI invited objections,” he added.

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