After loss, Nirupam questions EVMs, alleges manipulation

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Press Trust of India Mumbai
Last Updated : May 17 2014 | 9:32 PM IST
Congress candidate from Mumbai North Sanjay Nirupam, who lost by a big margin to his BJP rival in the Lok Sabha election, today questioned the reliability of Electronic Voting Machines.
"The process of EVMs is undemocratic and the Election Commission should order a probe into the functioning of machines that are now being stored in strongrooms," he said here.
He said he has accepted the mandate with humility, but the margin of loss baffled him.
"It's not natural and it is not possible without manipulating the EVMs," he alleged, adding his frustration came from the confident manner in which BJP's PM nominee Narendra Modi and his close aid Amit Shah spoke of the party winning 300 seats and Congress not opening the account in several states.
"We understand the people's anger against the Congress or need for change in the government. (But) Even those who contest elections are not able to predict such numbers with such overconfidence. In Maharashtra, all the Congress candidates lost by a margin of one to two lakh. This cannot happen without manipulation," he said.
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First Published: May 17 2014 | 9:32 PM IST

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