Nagpur (Maharashtra): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday called for elections to be held using ballot papers if people have doubts about the process and suggested that the Election Commissioner should also be elected by the people.
“The issue of ‘One Nation, One Election’ should come later. First, the election of the Election Commissioner should be conducted. If the President can be elected, why not the Election Commissioner? If people have doubts about EVMs, those doubts must be addressed. Let voting happen using ballot papers once. If the same majority is achieved, no one will question it again,” Uddhav Thackeray said during a press conference in Nagpur.
On reports of a few Mahayuti leaders being unhappy over not being inducted into the newly formed Maharashtra Government, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said, “Let them run the government, they will find out. Whatever was said about me earlier is now being exposed. People can see what is being said about them (the Maharashtra Government). Chhagan Bhujbal is not in touch with me regarding this matter, but he is always in touch with me,” Uddhav added.
Earlier on Monday, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), stating that the party had presented several demonstrations highlighting the possibility of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being hacked, but the election body did not accept them.
The Congress party raised concerns about EVMs following its losses in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly elections. The party even met the Election Commission to express doubts about the electoral process in Maharashtra.
In the elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory by winning 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.
The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also made notable gains, winning 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback, with Congress securing just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed only 10 seats.
This report is auto-generated from ANI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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No. The Election Commissioner must be selected by Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray.
That’s the only way forward if India is to remain a democracy.