Samaana calls Mahayuti victory 'lucky draw', says 'EVM hai toh mumkin hai'

Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday said the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra won a "bumper lucky draw" in the assembly elections, but a cloud of suspicion hangs over the use of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

"EVM hai to mumkin hai," (anything is possible with EVMs), said the editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

US-based billionaire Elon Musk recently praised the speed at which votes were counted in Indian elections and contrasted it with the pace of counting in the presidential polls in his country, but even ordinary Indians are "dumbstruck" by the functioning of the EVMs, Saamana said.


Further, Musk himself had said a few months ago that EVMs can be hacked, it pointed out.

"How did the ruling Mahayuti win this "bumper lucky draw" of 230 out of 288 seats? While seeking answers, the thinking stops at the EVMs," it said. The "Gujarat-Rajasthan connection" of the EVMs used in Maharashtra, the alleged mismatch between the voting figure and votes counted by EVMs in 95 constituencies, mystery of charging of the batteries used in EVMs and many other things strengthen suspicion about an "EVM scam", the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece added.

People in the country are wondering how the Mahayuti coalition got votes in such a huge numbers, the editorial further said.

The ruling Mahayuti comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar decimated the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the November 20 Maharashtra elections.

While the Mahayuti won 230 seats, the MVA comprising the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) won only 46 seats. Opposition parties have often questioned the EVMs, claiming that they can be manipulated, a theory rejected by the BJP and its allies.