'Maha Assembly polls should be conducted through paper ballots'

New Delhi: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray Monday met Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and demanded that the Assembly polls in the state, due later this year, be conducted through paper ballots instead of Electronic Voting Machines.

In his visit to the national capital, the first in more than a decade, Thackeray said he has submitted a letter to the Election Commission, demanding it to switch back to the traditional paper ballot. He termed the meeting "mere formality".

"There are doubts in the minds of voters that the votes they cast do not go to their chosen candidates. In such a scenario, the Election Commission should switch back to paper ballots and conduct the Maharashtra state polls through it. We strongly feel that the EVMs can be tampered with," Thackeray told reporters after the meeting.