CHENNAI: Calling exit polls giving a thumping majority to the NDA as fraudulent, Congress president Rahul Gandhi appealed to party workers not to get discouraged and remain vigilant.
“The next 24 hours are very crucial. Stay alert and vigilant. Don’t be scared. You are fighting for the truth. Don’t be disheartened by the propaganda of fake exit polls. Believe in yourself and the Congress. Your hard work will not go to waste. Jai Hind,” he tweeted.
Rahul’s message to party workers cames amid the Opposition levelling allegations of mishandling and tampering of EVMs and raising concerns about tallying EVM counts with VVPATs.
The Opposition also slammed the Election Commission for rejecting their demand with regard to matching EVM counts with VVPATs.
However, BJP chief Amit Shah accused the Opposition of belittling the electoral process by questioning the credibility of the EVMs.
Claiming that the Opposition was betraying desperation in the face of a certain defeat, Shah wondered why these parties accepted positive verdicts in elections held under the same EVMs in an apparent reference to Assembly polls in five states in December last year.
Shah also termed their plea to the EC “unconstitutional”.
Though the EC had made it clear to the 22 opposition parties on Tuesday that the old protocol for counting the paper slips would continue, its top officials met Wednesday and decided against making any last-minute changes to the way they are to be tallied.
Slamming its decision, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the EC decision went against the “spirit” of a Supreme Court order.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi asked whether the EC has made the EVMs “electronic victory machines” for the BJP and the Model Code of Conduct as “Modi’s Campaign Code”.