Seventeen opposition parties have decided to approach the Election Commission to demand that 2019 Lok Sabha polls be conducted with ballot papers.<\/p>\n
Contending that electronic voting machines (EVMs), even those with voter verifiable paper audit trial (VVPATs), would not be acceptable, the parties will first hold a joint meeting on Monday, then push a discussion on the issue in Parliament, followed by a fresh appeal to the Election Commission of India (EC) over the next week, said a report in The Hindustan Times (HT).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a matter on which all Opposition parties agreed. We are planning to meet next week. We plan to go to the ECI and demand that it conduct the coming Lok Sabha election on ballot papers,\u201d Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O\u2019Brien, reported The Hindu.<\/p>\n
The initiative on the matter was taken by TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, when she visited Parliament to meet all Opposition leaders to invite them for rally planned by her in Kolkata on January 19.<\/p>\n
Banerjee appealed to all Opposition party leaders who visited her in the TMC office in Parliament, to send a joint delegation to the ECI to point out reports of EVM (electronic voting machine) tampering and to demand that the 2019 general election be held on ballots.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll Opposition parties should go to ECI on this matter. There should be a joint delegation of opposition parties to EC,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Aam Admi Party leader Sanjay Singh has been asked to draft the points of contention with the help of TMC MP Subrata Bakshi. \u201cThese two leaders have in-depth knowledge of the problems of EVMs,\u201d said an opposition leader. The AAP was among the first parties to cast doubts about EVMs after the Punjab Assembly elections of 2017.<\/p>\n
The TMC had staged protests outside Parliament, questioning the neutrality of EVMs and demanded that ballot papers be brought back for the 2019 Lok Sabha election. The ruling party in West Bengal said it was a \u201ccommon programme\u201d that would unite all Opposition parties.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Banerjee had also urged Shiv Sena, a BJP ally, to be a part of the delegation. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had demanded that the 2019 Lok Sabha election be conducted on ballot papers instead of EVMs.<\/p>\n
Last month, the Congress had demanded restoration of the old system of conducting elections through ballot papers to replace the electronic voting machines. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said opposition parties were in agreement that EVMs should be removed and the older system should be brought back so that all parties have \u201cfaith in the election system\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Congress passed a resolution in the plenary session in which it expressed preference for ballot papers because of the concerns about the EVMs. It is imperative to ensure full faith in the electoral process,\u201d said the party\u2019s spokesperson Rajeev Gowda.<\/p>\n
In the political resolution adopted at its 84th plenary session this March, the Congress urged EC to revert to ballot papers instead of EVMs, which have come under scrutiny following allegations of tampering. \u201cThere are apprehensions among the political parties and people over the misuse of EVMs to manipulate the outcome contrary to the popular verdict. To ensure the credibility of the electoral process, EC should revert to the old practice of paper ballot, as most major democracies have done,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
A senior Congress leader, who asked not to be named, said a \u201cbroad understanding has already been reached between different opposition parties on what exactly the united group will demand from the government and EC\u201d. The demand will specifically focus on reverting to the ballot, and relaying to EC that VVPAT is not a sufficient guarantor for transparency.<\/p>\n