BJP leaders mock Oppn for blaming EVMs for defeat in Assembly polls

NEW DELHI: BJP leaders on Tuesday mocked Opposition leaders for questioning accuracy of EVMs, after Assembly poll results were announced in five states, saying they are looking for excuses to hide their own shortcomings.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged victorious in three Hindi heartland states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh — in the recent round of Assembly polls, several Opposition leaders raised questions over electronic voting machines, even as some said they had faith in the EVMs.

Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh slammed the Opposition and said they blame EVMs whenever they fail to win elections.

Another BJP leader, S P Singh Baghel, said, “With these EVMs, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won elections in Delhi thrice and in Punjab once, the Samajwadi Party (SP) got an absolute majority (in Uttar Pradesh) in 2012, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) got an absolute majority (in Uttar Pradesh) in 2007 and the Congress won Telangana.”

Several Opposition leaders said the doubts over the EVMs have been growing.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, however, said he has confidence in EVMs.

The issue was raked up after Congress’s Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh questioned the reliability of EVMs on Tuesday, following his party’s defeat in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Assembly polls.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister claimed that any machine with a chip can be hacked and said he has opposed voting by EVMs since 2003.