NEW DELHI: Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday launched a sharp counterattack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, challenging him to demonstrate confidence in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s electoral strength by committing to the use of paper ballots in all future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
In a post on X, Khera said that if Modi was confident that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) did not influence election outcomes, he should demonstrate that confidence through concrete policy decisions rather than political rhetoric.
“If Narendra Modi is so confident that EVMs have no bearing on election results, let him prove his confidence in the BJP’s electoral prowess through action, not rhetoric,” Khera said.
The Congress leader outlined four demands, urging the Centre to conduct all future Lok Sabha and Assembly elections using paper ballots, suspend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, restore 13.3 crore voters whom he alleged had been illegally deleted from the rolls, and remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Khera also called for the repeal of legislation that, according to him, grants statutory protection and immunity to election commissioners.
His remarks came after Prime Minister Modi took a swipe at the Congress following the National Democratic Alliance’s sweep of all four Karnataka Legislative Council seats.
In his post on X, Modi referred to Legislative Council elections held across Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, highlighting that ballot papers had been used.
“MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections were held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?” the Prime Minister wrote.
In Karnataka, BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) candidates won all four seats contested in the Legislative Council elections, dealing a setback to the Congress.
The political exchange has brought the debate over EVMs, ballot papers and electoral rolls back into focus, with the Congress demanding changes to the electoral process and the BJP pointing to its performance in the ballot-based Karnataka polls.
Meanwhile, counting for Legislative Council elections in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka was underway.
