Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction) leader Sanjay Raut has demanded a re-election in Maharashtra with ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after his party took a beating in the recently held polls.
Raut’s party was a part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, with Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction), as its allies. They were decimated to a mere 46 seats in an Assembly of 288 seats.
Following the embarrassing defeat, Sanjay Raut told the media, “There are 5-7 members in a family but only votes of 4 people were cast. I have received such complaints from various places in Maharashtra.”
#WATCH | Mumbai: On Maharashtra Assembly election result, Shiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut says, "…EVM has been a big issue in this election, therefore this time we say that let this result be there but, in Maharashtra, conduct this election once more through paper ballots and… pic.twitter.com/d5JXG7A3jF
— ANI (@ANI) November 25, 2024
“EVM is a big issue in this election. You keep the people’s verdict aside and hold re-election in Maharashtra using ballot paper. Show us that the mandate received through EVM is the same,” he brazened out.
Sanjay Raut then claimed that the Maha Vikas Aghadi were ahead on postal ballots but fell drastically behind when EVM votes were factored in the total result.
“How can we fall this behind when we were once ahead? Is this possible? The whole of Maharashtra was behind Sharad Pawar but look at the result. DY Chandrachud is responsible for the mess,” he concluded.
