Cong leaders rake up EVM issue, bat for paper ballot
FORMER MAHA CM PRITHVIRAJ CHAVAN SUGGESTED THE CHINTAN SHIVIR SHOULD PASS A RESOLUTION SAYING INDIA WILL RETURN TO PAPER BALLOTS IF THE CONG RETURNS TO POWER
UDAIPUR: A string of losses in both national and regional polls prompted the Congress Chintan Shivir to discuss the electronic voting machine (EVM) and its possible tampering, even as it won several elections including the two general elections in 2004 and 2009 with votes cast in machines.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan suggested that the Chintan Shivir should pass a resolution saying India will return to paper ballots if the Congress returns to power—a proposition that would require winning votes through EVMs.
The political committee of the Shivir, led by Rajya Sabha leader of the opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, saw several enthusiastic speakers questioning the credibility of EVMs. Many pointed out to the recent state elections, particularly Uttar Pradesh, to drive home their point. “Some leaders furnished data, others cited articles to express doubt over EVMs.”
To be sure, the Congress came to power in 2004 and 2009 in elections conducted using EVMs. And it has won several state elections since 2014 that were conducted using EVMs. More importantly, there is no evidence so far that EVMs can be rigged.
In 2017, amid a raging debate the Election Commission challenged political parties to prove their claim that electronic voting machines can be tampered with. The event saw participation of several parties but none could tamper with it and prove EC wrong.
The poll panel has ruled out reverting to paper ballots but reiterated that the voter-verifiable paper audit trail, or VVPAT, will be used along with EVMs in all elections to ensure transparency. VVPAT records the candidate and symbol a person voted for in a paper receipt.
UDAIPUR: The Congress on Sunday adopted a ‘Nav Sankalp’ -- a road map for wide-ranging reforms in the party organisation to make it battle-ready for the next round of assembly and Lok Sabha polls, sources said.
They said the party has adopted the “one-family, one ticket” formula with the rider that another family member seeking to contest elections should have worked in the party in an exemplary manner for at least five years.
The party, the sources said, has also approved 50 per cent representation to SCs, STs, OBCs and minorities at all levels of the organisation, as part of its social engineering efforts to win the confidence of the weaker and oppressed sections of society.
The resolution was adopted by the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, after the final round of deliberations on key issues. The CWC met earlier in the day in the sidelines of the shivir. After the three-day deliberations on organisational, political, economic, agricultural, social justice and youth-related issues, the dedicated panels formed for the purpose submitted their reports to the Congress president.
Tricky issues relating to ideology, economic policy and social engineering were debated in the Chintan Shivir panels.
The Congress is holding the three-day conclave in Udaipur in the backdrop of a string of electoral defeats and dissent in the party for the past many years.
The declaration also includes the demand for legal guarantee to MSP for farmers, besides granting 50 per cent representation to those below 50 years of age in the party and making unemployment a major issue in the upcoming elections.
The ongoing Chintan Shivir in Udaipur agreed to a call to include in the party’s manifesto the removal of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) from the electoral system while also vowing to reintroduce the paper ballots if the party comes to power at the Centre.
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan emphasised the need for the party to win the Assembly polls that are lined up before the commencement of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
Speaking to ANI, Chavan said, “We had discussions over the issue of the EVM tampering. But it’s my personal opinion that filing petitions or urging won’t compel PM Modi to change it. There is only one way, that is to defeat him. We will have to write in our manifesto that if we come to power at the Centre, we would stop the use of EVMs and get back to the ballot papers.”
“There are 12 Assembly elections before the Lok Sabha polls in 2024. Facing the Lok Sabha polls would be difficult until we win these polls,” he added.
When asked about the impact of the Chintan Shivir on the Congress party, the leader said that its conduct itself has enabled the party leaders from across the country to gather and share the issues pertaining to the organisation in various states.
“The conduct of the Shivir in itself is big because we could not meet each other for two years. The top Congress leaders from across the country met and put forward their views,” Chavan said.
According to the sources, a presentation was made in the Shivir regarding the possibility of the hacking of the EVMs which the Opposition parties have questioned in the past.
Deliberations over the party’s strategy to find winning ways took place during the first two days of the three-day Shivir.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday announced forming an advisory group from among CWC members which would meet regularly to discuss political matters, but asserted it was “not a collective decisionmaking body” and would help her get the benefit of vast experience of senior colleagues.
The Congress president also announced that a compact task force will be set up to drive the process of internal reforms that are essential.
These reforms with a focus on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls will cover all aspects of the organisation, including structure, rules for appointments to party posts, communications and publicity, outreach, finances and election management, Gandhi said in her concluding remarks at the party’s ‘Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir’ here.