Return to ballot paper voting, EVM confuses voters: Uddhav Thackeray

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said with EVMs, people have "lost the right" to know who they have voted for.

Speaking at an event on National Voters' Day, on the eve of Republic Day, he said the country must revert to elections through ballot paper.

The former Maharashtra chief minister also took swipes at the BJP and its predecessors, stating that freedom of the country is now in the hands of those who had no connection with the freedom struggle.

"They participated neither in the Indian freedom struggle, nor in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement," he said, referring to the movement for the formation of the Maharashtra state.

There is no value to voting any longer, Thackeray said, adding that whether EVMs can be tampered with or not is a technical question, but all the institutions have been captured.

"When polling took place through ballot paper, we knew who we voted for," Thackeray said. Though there is Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) along with EVM, one can not be sure whether a vote was actually counted for the intended candidate, he said.

"We have lost the right to know who we have voted for. This government has snatched that right away. Is this democracy?" he asked.

The Sena (UBT) chief also claimed that the Election Commission has now stopped providing CCTV footage of polling booths.

In apparent reference to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat's recent statement, he said "some people" think the country became truly independent only in 2024 when the the Ram Temple was consecrated at Ayodhya.

For the BJP, Dr B R Ambedkar has become "fashion", Thackeray further said, alluding to Union home minister Amit Shah's controversial statement in Parliament. "No one dared to show this kind of arrogance earlier," Thackeray said, adding, "It is the duty of Maharashtra to put those who insulted Dr Ambedkar and the Constitution in their place."  Maharashtra did not help the BJP realize its dream of crossing 400 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, he noted, referring to the ruling party's dismal performance in the state.

For more than two years the Shiv Sena (UBT) has been knocking on the doors of the courts for justice over then Maharashtra Speaker's ruling on the split in the undivided Sena, Thackeray said. Then speaker Rahul Narvekar had held that the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde was the real political party. "Everyone is aware of the tenth schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law)...to ignore it is dictatorship," Thackeray said.