QUESTION MARK ON EVMs HELPING BJP SWEEP POLLS

A new question mark was put on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as they helped the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) sweep 14 of the 16 mayor's posts even while the party polled very little votes in other elections of the local urban bodies in Uttar Pradesh that were conducted with the ballot papers.

The social media was quick to question why the BJP swept EVM-based polls but lost in four other local elections held with ballot papers.

The Uttar Pradesh State Election Commission also released statistics of the results declared on Friday on its website <<http://sec.up.nic.in/eleclive/ULBResult.html>> confirming this discrepancy.

Sanajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

supremo Mayawati, who have been the state's chief ministers, also claimed the BJP perpetuating the "EVM fraud" to win the elections.

They cited how the BJP had won 14 of 16 posts of the Mayor where the polls were conducted with EVMs, but fared miserably in all other civic elections conducted with the ballot paper. The BSP had won two Mayor posts. "BJP has won only 15% seats in ballot paper areas and 46% in EVM areas," Yadav tweeted.

The Congress appeared quite upset as BJP may repeat the same "EVM magic" of UP in Gujarat that goes to the Assembly poll just a week away on December 9 in the first phase and on December 14 in the second phase. It is preparing a case to go before the Election Commission as well as approach the Supreme Court to reiterate its demand to count paper slips of VVPAT (verifiable paper audit trail) machines to be attached to all EVMs in Gujarat to let people be assured of no hanky-panky in alleged tampering of EVMs.