Cong won’t contest elections if EVMs not replaced with ballot papers: Five-time MLA stokes row

Raipur, Nov 28 The political bickering over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) got a fresh twist on Thursday, with five-time Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma demanding 'reversal' to ballot papers for conducting free and fair elections. Going a step ahead of party president Mallikarjun Kharge’s objection to EVMs, he said that Congress won’t participate in upcoming elections if EVMs are not replaced with ballot papers.

“Congress party won’t contest future elections unless EVMs are done away with and polling is held on ballot papers,” Kawasi Lakhma told media persons.

“We will speak with our alliance partners in the INDIA bloc to press this demand of doing away with EVMs and adopting ballot papers. Kharge ji has already spoken about EVM manipulation, we are firm on launching a strong campaign against it,” said Kawasi Lakhma, the five-time legislator from the Konta seat.

Lakhma’s comments come on the heels of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s 'aversion' to EVMs as he said, “We don’t want EVMs, we want ballot paper”.

Kharge, addressing Samvidhan Rakshak Abhiyaan recently in the national capital, raised the demand for the transition from EVMs to ballot papers and also spoke about the party's plans of launching a massive campaign on the lines of Bharat Jodo Yatra, to push for this change.

The outburst against EVMs by the former Chhattisgarh cabinet minister, Lakhma assumes importance as this has been reiterated by many Congress leaders.

Congress leaders, from North to South, have often blamed the ‘vulnerable’ machines for the party’s poll drubbings in states, the latest being Haryana and Maharashtra.

BJP has been quick to deride and ridicule the grand old party over questioning the authenticity and reliability of EVMs.

Reacting to claims of the tall Congress leader from Chhattisgarh, BJP’s social media wrote, “If they lose, they start crying about EVM and if they win, Congress wins... It's not EVMs, it's Congress' intentions that are bad.”

Earlier, taunting Kharge’s demand for switching to EVMs, the party said that such demand was an insult to the Congress party itself.

“The problem is not in the machine (EVM). The problem is with the (Congress) leadership. The EVM is fine, Rahul is faulty. Replace Rahul, not EVM,” a BJP spokesperson said.