Smarting under a humiliating drubbing in the recent elections, the YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has found a new cause to espouse: revival of the ballot paper system in the place of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Jagan, whose party was reduced to 11 seats in the 175-member assembly, joined the chorus of the INDIA bloc demanding the reintroduction of paper ballots replacing the EVMs to “uphold the true spirit of our democracy.”
“Just as justice should not only be served but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent undoubtedly,” he posted on X.
“In electoral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy,” he said.
Ironically, when his party pulled off a landslide victory in the 2019 assembly polls, bagging 151 seats, he never complained about the EVMs. The rout in the recent elections has prompted him to doubt the very efficacy of the voting machines.
Not surprisingly, the ruling Telugu Desam Party and its ally Jana Sena Party have dubbed Jagan as “Andhra Elon Musk” for casting aspersions on the EVMs. Tech billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk recently remarked that EVMs could be rigged, triggering a fresh debate in political circles.
On the day of the election results on June 4, Jagan expressed doubts over the outcome. “It is said frauds and injustices were committed in the elections, but I have no evidence to prove it. God only knows what truly happened. There is nothing more I can do,” he said.
The social media wing of the YSRCP echoed his views. In a post on X, the party said: “The shift towards paper ballots, as observed in many advanced democracies, is a step in the right direction. It enhances transparency, ensures verifiability, and bolsters public confidence in the electoral outcomes.”
“By adopting paper ballots, we can better uphold the true spirit of our democracy and strengthen the trust of our citizens in the democratic process. We demand paper ballot voting.”
In response to Jagan, the TDP said in a post on X: “Mr Pulivendula MLA, when your party got 151 seats, you were all the praise for the EVMs. When your party got 11 seats, you say that the EVMs were tampered with, which is not correct.”
The party attached a video clipping that showed Jagan strongly endorsing the usage of EVMs during the 2019 elections.
TDP general secretary and state minister for information technology Nara Lokesh also pulled up Jagan for demanding that EVMs be replaced by a ballot paper system.
“Let us face it @ysjagan, you’re allergic to democracy. You systematically destroyed institutions, systems and practices devoted to protecting people’s rights. You struck down in one stroke what the people of AP built collectively over the years.
When you won in 2019, EVMs worked beautifully. When you lose in 2024, you blame the EVMs. Such hypocrisy. Perhaps you should reflect on your failed tenure and accept that people have rejected you outright…” Lokesh posted on X.
Jana Sena Party’s social media wing Sataghni also lashed out at Jagan for his demand for ballot papers and also blacking out Jana Sena on social media platforms. “It is surprising you are still crying over the usage of EVMs. The same Pulivendula MLA had made statements in support of EVMs in the past,” it said.
Meanwhile, experts have called for an end to the vilification of the EVMs which have proved their trustworthiness over decades and helped in preventing electoral malpractices like rigging and booth capturing in the country.
“Switching back to the ballot papers would open floodgates to rigging and booth capturing. We must trust the EVM technology and the efficiency and the impartiality of the Election Commission,” said Dr N Jayaprakash Narayan, a former bureaucrat and founder of a national NGO Lok Satta working in the area of democratic and electoral reforms.
The political parties must desist from casting aspersions on the technology-driven, foolproof process that has earned laurels for the country. It is true that some voting machines malfunction on the polling day due to a variety of technical reasons but they cannot be manipulated.
It would be outrageous to claim that the entire poll machinery conspires to manipulate the outcome in favour of a particular party.
It is time the political parties realised the dangers of dragging the neutral institutions and time-tested electoral processes into partisan politics and trashing the voting machines, disregarding their proven track record since their introduction over three-and-half decades ago.
The indigenous EVMs, the standalone, non-networked machines that run on a single programmed microchip, have proved to be quite ahead of the curve when compared to the machines being used in other parts of the world.
The use of EVMs has been one of the stellar success stories of India’s mature democracy and an independent Election Commission. Nothing should be done to tarnish this image.
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