SP Maurya alleges foul play in EVM votes

Swami Prasad Maurya, who lost the assembly election on Fazilangar seat that he contested on Samajwadi Party ticket after quitting BJP, has cast aspersions on the election process and electronic voting machines (EVMs).

In a statement in Hindi on microblogging sites Koo and Twitter on Monday, Maurya said: “In the ballot paper voting, Samajwadi Party won 304 seats while the BJP just 99. But in the EVM counting, the BJP won the elections. This means there definitely was foul play.” By ballot paper voting, Maurya meant postal ballots.

SP leaders had raised the issue of EVMs recently and earlier too to the extent that SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had been demanding that elections be held using ballot papers.

Meanwhile, several party functionaries of various assembly constituencies of the state met Akhilesh at the party office in Lucknow.

“These people, who came to meet Akhilesh, told him about election anomalies in their respective constituencies. They said that in the voters’ list names of a large number of SP supporters were removed after identifying them. Discussions over misuse of power and EVMs are all over the state,” said SP’s UP spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary in a statement.

Chaudhary said: “Akhilesh also believes that due to BJP leaders politics of deception, the sanctity of politics is in peril. The basis of democracy is in danger.”