NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday criticised the Congress for demanding a return to ballot paper voting, claiming that the party’s performance in Legislative Council (MLC) elections across several states exposed its lack of public support.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, party national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress had failed to make an impact in the MLC elections despite voting being conducted through ballot papers and ballot boxes.
“In the elections held for Legislative Councils across various states of India, the Congress Party has so far remained at zero. They may not like it, but they are sitting at zero. Their account still remains at zero. The most important aspect of these elections is that they were conducted through ballot papers and ballot boxes,” Trivedi said.
He argued that the results demonstrated the Congress’s inability to secure the support of voters, irrespective of the voting system used.
“This makes it clear that the Congress Party lacks the ability to secure the support of the public or the concerned electorate in any kind of election, whether the elections are conducted using EVMs or through ballot papers and ballot boxes,” he added.
Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Trivedi said public support could only be earned through sustained political work rather than leisure trips and sightseeing.
“Public support is earned through hard work, not by going sightseeing and enjoying oneself,” he said, accusing Gandhi of speaking about launching agitations after returning from leisure trips.
Trivedi further maintained that the MLC election results had undermined the Congress’s allegations concerning electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter lists.
“The MLC elections have made it clear that the Congress Party has scored zero even in elections conducted through ballot papers and ballot boxes. In other words, the problem lies neither with EVMs, nor with the voter lists, nor with the ballot papers. The problem lies in the delusions entrenched in their minds and their habit of not working,” he said.
Urging the Congress to abandon what he described as its habit of avoiding work, Trivedi said the party should stop raising allegations of ‘vote chori’.
“Therefore, we would once again like to tell the Congress Party to give up its habit of kaamchori, and the term ‘vote chori’ will automatically cease to come out of its mouth,” he said.
Trivedi also criticised the Congress over an objectionable social media post concerning the Chief Justice of India, citing the unconditional apology issued by the Congress in Keralam. He described the apology as an acknowledgement of the party’s mistake and demanded that Rahul Gandhi also apologise for his remarks against constitutional institutions.
He further alleged that Gandhi and the Congress had sought to create political unrest by spreading what he termed a “whirlwind of lies”, adding that the MLC election results appeared to have dealt a setback to their agenda.