Experts’ views needed on EVM issue, says Pawar

Mumbai, June 10: NCP chief Sharad Pawar Monday once again questioned he veracity of EVMs and said the issue would be discussed by Opposition parties in Delhi in the presence of experts and technocrats, days after the BJP swept the Lok Sabha polls.

Addressing a convention of NCP workers marking the 20th anniversary of the party, Mr Pawar said it needed to be figured out what exactly transpired after a voter pressed the button against the name of a party candidate of his choice and it got reflected on the VVPAT.

His nephew Ajit Pawar, however, appeared to be on the different page on the issue and questioned the criticism of the EVMs.

Ajit asked NCP workers not to waste their time in thinking much over the outcome of the general elections, but instead focus on winning more seats for the party in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, due in September-October this year.

Mr Pawar told the party workers that he had spoken to several experts after the poll outcome.

In Maharashtra, the NDA combine won 41 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats while the NCP managed to retain four.

The NCP chief said apparently there was nothing wrong about the poll process till a voter presses the button against the name of a candidate of his/her choice and the same gets reflected on the VVPAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail) equipment.

“In a polling booth, there sits an officer who has a machine before him... When you press the button on an EVM, it gets reflected on VVPAT and from there it is transferred there (to the machine before the officer),” Mr Pawar said.

“...And votes are counted from that machine. Now do you have any idea what is transferred there (to the machine before the officer)? The problem lies there. It needs to be figured out what happens in this stage,” he added.

The leader said doubts should not creep in the minds of the people about EVMs in a Parliamentary democratic set up.

He said the people should not be made to feel that the vote they cast for one party got reflected into other party’s tally.

“People might keep quiet now, but they may take law into their hands. This should not be allowed to happen,” he said.

Doubts should not creep in the minds of the people about EVMs in a Parliamentary democratic set up — Sharad Pawar, NCP president