Thane: Raj Thackeray on Saturday said if BJP gains 150 seats in Gujarat it should be considered as a miracle by the EVMs.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Chief Raj Thackeray reportedly said, “The recent trends, as well as reports, indicate that the ruling party is likely to lose the elections”.
He further said, “Some visuals of Modi’s public meetings are doing the round, which show that people are leaving the venue in groups during his address, which had never happened in the past. Even from this, one gets a message”.
He added, “Despite this if the BJP gets more than 150 seats, it should be considered a miracle by the electronic voting machines (EVMs)”.
Raj Thackeray has also alleged that the Election Commission had “inordinately” delayed the announcement of Gujarat election.
He said, “The Election Commission and other statutory bodies should work independently. But it does not happen here”.
He also alleged that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) have been manipulated in the past in the state elections in UP and civic elections in Mumbai and Pune.
The Election Commission of India claims its EVMs are “impossible” to get manipulated.
The Congress and other parties have demanded installation of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in all polling booths owing to these allegations.
CEC A. K. Joti had earlier said that around 55,000 polling stations will be set up for the upcoming assembly elections in Gujarat and that all EVMs will be equipped with VVPAT.
Gujarat chief electoral officer (CEO) B.B. Swain said, “Gujarat is the first large state where an entire assembly poll will be conducted using the EVMs (electronic voting machines) equipped with VVPAT”.
He added, “These VVPAT machines will allow voters to verify if their vote has gone to the intended candidate, ensuring transparency in the voting process”.
Prakash Joshi, All-India Congress Committee secretary has also filed a petition in Supreme Court requesting the court to “issue direction” to the Election Commission of India “ to install CCTV cameras inside the polling booth in Gujarat to watch the mobility of persons” along with displaying videograph of “the number of votes polled outside on a display board.”