The Bharatiya Janta Party on Tuesday said that the opposition parties have made it a trend to question the authenticity and credibility of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) only when they lose. The Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad mocked the Opposition parties, calling them sore losers, and also urged them to accept the mandate of the public instead of looking for excuses when the public crowns BJP as the winners again on the 23rd of May 2019. He also said that the opposition parties knew that they had lost after the fourth phase itself , and now they were just grasping at straws to help explain away their loss.
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The Trend of blaming EVMs started from the UP state elections
The first allegation of EVM tampering had been hurled by BSP chief Mayawati after she did not manage to win a single major seat in the UP state elections. During the time, it was said that no matter which button was pressed, the vote always went to BJP. Ever since then, almost all opposition parties have been pinning their losses on the EVMs in every state. These include Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and even national parties such as the Congress have resorted to blaming these machines for their loss.
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However, it must be noted that the supposed “EVM tampering” only happens in the states where they lose and not where they win. When Mamata Banerjee was re-elected in West Bengal, or when the INC won elections in 3 major states including Punjab, all appeared to be well with the EVMs. This, along with the fact that there is no credible proof that the EVMs can be tampered with, have led many to believe that they are just faking it to reduce the sting.
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Supreme Court orders VVPAT inspection, Opposition still not Happy
The Supreme Court, in response to a petition filed by the Opposition parties regarding the same, had ordered the inspection of 5 VVPAT machines in every district. The Opposition however, demanded this number be raised to 50%, which was denied by the Supreme Court saying that this would cause unnecessary delays in the results.
As of right now, the exit polls are very heavily in Modi’s favor and he is all set for his second term. The final results are set to come out on the 23rd of May for all constituencies.