Independent candidate from Bihar’s Purnea, Pappu Yadav urged all workers to come to the counting centres ready with “kafan” prepared to sacrifice their lives while saving democracy on the day of the counting of votes on Tuesday.
“Agar zabardasti loktantra ki maut hogi, toh Mahabharata ka sangram hoga (If democracy is killed forcefully, a fight like the Mahabharata will commence). To save democracy every worker in Purnea and Bihar should come ready to die tomorrow. Kafan bandh ke aaye (come with your shrouds). Har maathe pe kafan ho (May all of you come with shrouds over your head),” Yadav said in a press conference on Monday.
Questioning why the postal ballots are being counted after the EVMs, the Independent candidate who was earlier with the Congress asked all INDIA bloc candidates and workers not to leave the counting centres before signing on the count of postal ballots.
“Isn’t it a way of betraying (voters)? Why are counting of postal ballots not being done in the beginning? Why is it being done later? I would love to appeal to all INDIA bloc candidates and workers to sign after counting of postal ballots. Regardless of when they announce, do not leave without signing the count of postal ballots,” Yadav said.
Yadav also threatened poll officials to keep the process of counting votes transparent or else, his workers are ready to do anything out of desperation to save democracy.
“We want to cooperate with the Collector and all officials here. Keep the counting transparent, otherwise ‘marta kya na karta’ (Will do anything out of desperation),” the former Congress leader said.
Speaking about how he has been preparing for the counting of votes, Yadav said, “For the last three days, we have been asking our workers here to keep Form 17C, EVM number ready. The country’s top psephologists have come here, at 7 pm I have a meeting…”
The opposition INDIA bloc has urged the Election Commission to declare the results of the postal ballots first before finalising the EVM numbers.
Congress leader Manish Tewari who had contested from Chandigarh Lok Sabha constituency shared a quote from Winston Churchill on ‘X’ saying, “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; We shall never surrender.”
The counting of votes for the 543-member Lok Sabha will commence at 8 am on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference on Monday, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar gave a standing ovation to all voters who took part in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Lok Sabha elections were held in seven phases on April 19, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi steering the BJP campaign. A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of “400 paar” stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the elections.