AAP's MCD Win, Congress's Himachal Victory 'Intelligent Game' By BJP: Gujarat Congress Leader
Senior Gujarat Congress leader said the BJP's massive win in the state was because of EVM tampering and claimed an "intelligent game" in AAP's MCD win and the Congress victory in Himachal.
New Delhi: Senior Gujarat Congress leader Babubhai Mangukiya on Friday raised suspicions on the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) saying that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was playing an "EVM game" in the polls.
Speaking to ABP News about the Gujarat election result, he said: "Throughout the campaigning phase, I was in Gujarat and covered the Saurashtra region. There was no undercurrent. This unprecedented result is not logical for anyone."
"I've worked a lot on EVMs. I may be ridiculed for saying this it will be proven in the future that this result is thanks to EVMs," he added.
On the Congress party's win in Himachal, he remarked: "There is an intelligent game at play. The MCD was given to the AAP, the Himachal was given to the Congress, so now you cannot say anything against the EVM. If you do, you will be questioned on the opposition's poll wins."
"I can understand their plot. With these EVMs, they will secure over 400 seats in the 2024 general elections," he alleged.
When asked about the Congress party's poor performance in Gujarat, Mangukiya said that EVM was not responsible alone. "Our biggest woe was that this time around, we did not receive the kind of party support we should have got. Candidates were fighting the polls on their own, the organisation should be supporting them."
"A Congress candidate fights on his own whereas a BJP candidate fights with the backing of his organisation," he added.
The senior Congress leader dismissed the notion that the Aam Aadmi Party was taking over the grand old party's electoral space. "Aam Aadmi Party cannot replace us, they are BJP's B-team," he claimed, adding that the party originated from the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement supported by the BJP and the RSS.
"The AAP is being used to eliminate the Congress," Mangukiya said, claiming that the BJP was behind the same.
He stressed that the "Congress-mukt Bharat" (Congress-free India) call was dangerous for democracy, alleging that the grand old party's leaders were been threatened, intimidated, and poached.
"Maybe we are heading towards one-party rule in the country," he remarked.
The BJP won a record 156 seats in Gujarat with a staggering 52.5 per cent vote share in its seventh consecutive poll victory. As opposed to this, the opposition Congress and AAP got over 27 per cent and about 13 per cent vote share respectively. The Congress secured mere 17 seats while the AAP managed to bag five.
Independents won three seats and the Samajwadi Party picked up one.
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