Sharad Pawar visits Maharashtra village amid ballot repoll demand

Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. File Pic

NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday visited Markadwadi village in Solapur district of Maharashtra to express solidarity with residents who are questioning the integrity of the recent elections conducted via Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The villagers have proposed to hold a "repoll" using traditional ballot papers, reported news agency PTI.

Earlier this week, the Maharashtra Police took action against more than 200 individuals from Markadwadi and its surrounding areas, accusing them of attempting an unauthorised "re-election" using ballots.

In Photos: Opposition members boycott oath as MLAs in Maharashtra assembly to protest EVM `misuse`

5 days agoPHOTO GALLERY

During his visit, Pawar, accompanied by several party leaders including Jayant Patil, acknowledged the villagers' initiative.

Addressing a gathering, the senior politician said, "I would like to thank the villagers because you have shown the right direction to the whole country. You (villagers) were the ones who thought of conducting polls using ballot papers," stated PTI.

"We have collected some data about EVMs. People cast their votes, but in the end, the results were unexpected. You raised awareness about the issue, and the process needs to change," he added.

Pawar slammed the police action against villagers who sought to conduct a "re-election" using ballot papers, stated PTI.

"How can the police restrict the gathering of villagers in their village? How can they even file police complaints against you (villagers)? Collect all such complaints and give them to me. I will take this up with the chief minister, state chief electoral officer, the prime minister, and even the Election Commission of India," he told them.

The villagers' concerns arise from the state elections held on November 20, where the NCP (SP) candidate Uttam Jankar secured victory against BJP's Ram Satpute by a margin of 13,147 votes.

However, residents alleged that the number of votes Jankar received was lower than expected, which fueled doubts regarding the EVMs' accuracy.

Pawar underscored that the opposition is not trying to politicise the villagers' concerns, stating, "It is my request to Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis that we do not want to politicise the matter. We want to resolve the doubts of these villagers," he said.

The reaction to Pawar's statements came from Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who urged the senior politician to accept election outcomes and focus on self-reflection rather than spreading misinformation.

"You will come out of this if you accept defeat. I expect you to give your colleagues advice on introspection," he stated on X.

Pawar had on Saturday said a comparison between votes polled and seats won by political parties in the Maharashtra assembly polls was surprising, stated PTI.

"It is true that we have been defeated. We should not fret over it but go back to the people, as no enthusiasm is visible among the people about the election results. There is a lot of resentment," the senior politician had said during a press conference in Kolhapur.

While the ruling BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena coalition won 230 out of 288 assembly seats, he pointed to a lack of enthusiasm and significant resentment among voters.

Though the strength of MVA in the assembly is low, many young Opposition MLAs will show their mettle after a couple of sessions, Pawar said.

(With inputs from PTI)