Mayawati questions EVM-based voting, says people seeking return to ballot papers

BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday questioned the credibility of the electronic voting machine-based electoral process, alleging that EVMs were being used to influence free and fair voting and claiming that a large section of the population was demanding a return to the ballot paper system.

Mayawati also alleged that the Congress had a widely known tainted record in matters relating to electoral malpractice. (PTI)In a statement issued after a meeting of the BSP's Uttar Pradesh unit office-bearers here, Mayawati said her party was the first to oppose the use of EVMs after noticing concerns over the credibility of the voting process.

"After the BSP ensured unity and awareness among the Bahujan Samaj, a new method was allegedly devised to influence free and fair voting by using EVMs (Electronic Voting Machines) as a weapon," she said. The former chief minister added that when the BSP first opposed the system over concerns about the credibility of voting, opposition parties and elements favouring the existing establishment did not appreciate its stand.

"Today, most people in the country do not consider the EVM-based system prima facie to be compatible with a free and fair electoral process and are demanding restoration of the earlier arrangement of conducting elections through ballot papers," Mayawati said.

She also alleged that the Congress had a widely known tainted record in matters relating to electoral malpractice. The BSP chief linked the credibility of elections to wider political, social and economic challenges in the country, including poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, migration of landless people and other labourers from villages due to compulsion, irregularities in examinations and corruption at different levels.

"The fundamental reason behind the country's political, social and economic system becoming hollow is the absence of a completely credible, independent, impartial and accountable electoral system," she said. Mayawati said the issue had been a longstanding concern of the BSP since the Congress-led governments' tenure and had remained a major reason for the party's political struggle.

She also referred to the participation of Generation Z in raising the issue, saying young people had given it a new direction and turned it into a prominent public concern. "Efforts are being made at every level to suppress this issue.

But is it appropriate to extinguish fire with fire?" she asked. Mayawati alleged that money and muscle power, misuse of government machinery and the criminalisation of politics had long affected elections. She stressed the need for an independent, impartial and credible voting process, saying electoral integrity was essential to protecting the interests of the poor, labourers and unemployed youth.

The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was addressing a meeting of BSP state-level, divisional and district-level functionaries, including presidents of all 75 districts, convened to review the party's preparations for the forthcoming UP polls.

Mayawati's remarks also come amid allegations by opposition parties, including Samajwadi Party and Congress, questioning EVMs, voter-list revisions and the Election Commission's functioning. In UP, allegations of irregularities in Pilibhit's electoral rolls have prompted scrutiny and action against officials, with the state election office on Wednesday announcing a special voter enrolment drive under the Special Summary Revision-2027, focusing on eligible youth and women whose names are missing from electoral rolls.