‘Ballot Or Boycott’: Maharashtra Opposition Parties Look To Unite Against EVM Use In Upcoming Assembly Polls

Opposition parties in Maharashtra are pushing for the adoption of ballot papers to replace the usage of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) for the upcoming state assembly elections, reports Livemint.

It has been reported that the opposition parties are also weighing the option of boycotting the upcoming elections to force a return to the ballot papers. The suggestion is said to have come up at a meeting between the senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and the chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Raj Thackeray last week.

MNS general secretary Anil Shidore who attended the meeting with Gandhi apprised the media, “MNS chief Raj Thackeray believes that there is a genuine threat to Indian democracy because of the use of electronic voting machine (EVMs) because there is scope for the machine being misused."

Confirming the development, a senior Congress leader from the state said, “Thackeray has suggested ‘ballot or boycott’ to Sonia. As the largest opposition party, now it is up to us as to how we want to take this ahead. There have been genuine concerns which need to be looked into."