"Electoral system defective" Samajwadi Party leader raises questions on EVMs after Maharashtra, UP poll results

Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], November 24 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) leader ST Hasan criticized the "defective" electoral system expressed distrust in the Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) after the BJP-led NDA after landslide victory in Maharashtra assembly elections and Uttar Pradesh bypolls.
The SP leader said that the Maharashtra assembly elections were "unexpected" and alleged that the police and administration were influential to the Samajwadi party voters in the Uttar Pradesh bypolls.
Speaking to ANI, Hasan said, "We have been saying this since the past five years that our electoral system is 'defective.' We do not trust the EVMs and when I was in the parliament, we (SP) proposed that to ensure greater transparency both EVMs and ballot boxes should be counted, and that VVPAT slips should be handed to voters and placed in the ballot box."
"In Maharashtra, nobody thought that the NDA-alliance would cross 200 and the MVA would be stuck to merely 50 seats in the assembly polls.The results were unexpected. The e-voting process appears to be effective in preventing fake votes and ensuring that the voting process remains free from external influence. To protect democracy, a change in the electoral system is necessary," said ST Hasan.
The ruling Mahayuti alliance won the Maharashtra assembly polls and is poised for a landslide mandate with JMM-led alliance slated to return to power in Jharkhand with the ruling parties also performing well in the bypolls to 48 seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 seats.
The JMM-led alliance also created history in Jharkhand scoring a convincing victory and is the only incumbent alliance in the state to return to power after five years in office. JMM won 34 seats and its allies won 22 more seats - Congress 16, RJD 4 and CPI(ML) two. BJP won 21 seats. Polling was held for 81 seats in Jharkhand.
The news was also for good for ruling parties in most states in the bypolls to 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 seats with Trinamool Congress sweeping all seats in West Bengal, Congress in Karnataka, ruling NDA in Bihar and BJP putting up strong performance in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won the Lok Sabha bypoll from Wayanad in Kerala by over 4 lakh votes in her election debut.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday celebrated outside the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office by bursting crackers after the results of the by-elections to nine assembly seats in the state were declared.
On Saturday, the Election Commission of India declared the results of by-elections for 48 assembly seats held across 13 states, with the BJP and its allies winning the majority of the seats, while Congress won both Lok Sabha constituencies of Wayanad in Kerala and Nanded in Maharashtra.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won six assembly by-polls, and its ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RJD) won one seat, while the Samajwadi Party was able to win just two seats out of nine contested.
Following the massive win in UP by-elections, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday congratulated party leaders and workers and said that the credit for the "historic win" goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.
Among the assembly and by-polls, the BJP and its allies won the maximum seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) also won all six seats in West Bengal, while Congress won only seven seats, including all three assembly constituencies in Karnataka.
The by-elections were held in 48 assembly seats and two Lok Sabha seats across 15 states. (ANI)