Mumbai . Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hit out at the opposition, accusing them of misleading people about electronic voting machines (EVMs) and not accepting the mandate. Addressing reporters, Shinde said the ruling Mahayuti alliance had won the assembly elections held on November 20 because of its work, hence the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) should accept the mandate and support the government in development work. Needed
Voting for the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly was held on November 20 and the results were declared on November 23. In this election, the ‘Mahayuti’ alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won 230 seats, while Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (Ubatha) and The opposition alliance of Sharad Pawar led NCP (SP) had got only 46 seats. Opposition parties blamed irregularities in EVMs for their defeat in the elections and demanded the use of ballot papers.
Taking a dig at the opposition, the Shiv Sena chief said, “When you win, there is no fault in the EVMs but when you lose, the machine breaks down. This is not the right way.” He said the opposition should accept the mandate that they have been decisively defeated. The Deputy Chief Minister said that the people have shown the opposition its place and proved that they do not vote for those who sit at home. He said, “Mahayuti got 2.48 crore votes in the Lok Sabha elections, which is 43.55 percent. MVA got 2.5 crore votes, which is 43.71 percent. Still the opposition won 31 seats and Mahayuti got 17 seats. Should we say that EVMs were tampered with?”
Shinde said that creating confusion about a democratically elected government is not good for democracy. “People have given us the mandate for our work,” he said. Stop moaning and acknowledge the development work we have done. Accept the mandate.” Shinde said the opposition won the Jharkhand Assembly elections and the by-elections held on Nanded (Maharashtra) and Wayanad (Kerala) Lok Sabha seats. He said Mahayuti got 49.30 percent votes and 3.18 crore votes while MVA got 2.35 crore votes. Shinde said that there is a difference of one crore votes between the two parties. He said that no wrong will be done and no injustice will be done to anyone.
