Mumbai: MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Monday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state president Jayant Patil at his residence reportedly to seek support for his fight against electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The MNS has planned protests against EVM machines on August 9. Mr Thackeray has been insisting on the use of ballot papers instead of EVM machines in elections. He had also met chief election commissioner Sunil Arora in New Delhi on July 8.
A party insider refused to divulge the details regarding the meeting between Mr Thackeray and Mr Patil but said, “Rajsaheb has been on a drive to seek support from leaders of other parties in his battle against the EVMs.”
The MNS chief is also expected to meet state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat to seek his support.
The MNS has threatened to boycott the upcoming Assembly polls over alleged tampering of EVMs. However, the NCP has refused any proposal to boycott the polls.
Recently, NCP chief Sharad Pawar had said, “MNS leaders have strong feelings against EVMs. They feel that some decision needs to be taken in this regard. The MNS is in favour of boycotting the elections but this is not acceptable to us.”
According to MNS sources, Mr Thackeray is also expected to meet Trinamul chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamta Banerjee. Ms Banerjee too is a vocal critic of EVMs and had asked for a probe into allegations of tampering.
