EVM Row Erupts Again: SP-BSP to Hold Joint Protest in Lucknow on June 8; Activists to Demonstrate in Mumbai on June 12
Cadres of both the parties have planned a coordinated candle light march in Lucknow between 5pm-7pm on Saturday.
New Delhi, June 6: In what is likely to rekindle the debate on EVMs, the two major opposition parties of Uttar Pradesh - Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party - will take out a joint protest march on June 8 against the alleged misuse of electronic voting machines in the recently held Lok Sabha elections 2019.
Cadres of both the parties have planned a coordinated candle light march in Lucknow between 5pm-7pm on Saturday. The "silent march" is aimed at expressing the alleged lack of remedies to address voters' "distrust" in the EVMs used for elections in India. BSP Snaps Ties With SP, to Go Solo in UP Assembly Bypolls.
The march has been given a green signal by BSP supremo Mayawati -- before her the issue of EVMs was tabled at a recent meeting called to review the general election results.
Notably, Mayawati had expressed her apprehensions related to the voting machines even after the results were announced on May 23. Her party, which contested in alliance with the SP in Uttar Pradesh, won 10 seats. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party won 5 constituencies -- the same number which it had secured on contesting solo in 2014.
The two parties had alleged EVM tampering in the aftermath of 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls as well, when the BJP had won 303 of the 403 constituencies in the state.
Meanwhile, a demonstration against the "misuse" of EVMs has also been organised by activists in Mumbai on June 12. The protest is being spearheaded by Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 06, 2019 03:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).