Andhra Pradesh former chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (X.com)
VIJYAWADA: YSRC president and former chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday joined the chorus for a return to paper ballots from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in future elections.
"In electoral practices across the world, in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy," Jagan Mohan Reddy said in a post on 'X'.
He pointed out that developed nations are avoiding EVMs and still using ballot papers.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRC suffered a crushing defeat in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, even as 70 per cent of the people in the state received his government’s generous welfare benefits. Large numbers of techies were actively working for YSRC’s defeat and success of Telugu Desam led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s call came shortly after tech billionaire Elon Musk said hacking was possible with EVMs and hence this system of voting should be avoided.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “Just as justice should not only be served but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy. It should not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent, without any doubt whatsoever,” he said in his social media post.
In the past five years, the YSRC, though not part of either NDA or UPA, extended critical support to the Narendra Modi government on key legislations. But in this election, the BJP allied with its arch-rival, the Chandrababu-led Telugu Desam and the Jana Sena and outwitted the YSRC in the Assembly and LS polls.
The NDA alliance won 164 out of 175 assembly seats, reducing the YSRC score to just 11. Of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, NDA won 21 and the YSRC four.
Jagan Mohan Reddy's post hints at a political realignment at the national level, which can compound the troubles for the ruling BJP in Parliament, now that it does not have a majority and needs full backing from its NDA partners to stay in power.
The YSRC now has four MPs in Lok Sabha and 11 in Rajya Sabha. YSRC Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy said his party may have lost power in AP, but not its major strength in the upper house is crucial. "Please remember that the BJP and the central government need our support to pass bills in Rajya Sabha. There should be no doubt. We are as strong as the TD even though we have lost power in the state," he said.
"In electoral practices across the world, in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs. We too must move towards the same in upholding the true spirit of our democracy," Jagan Mohan Reddy said in a post on 'X'.
He pointed out that developed nations are avoiding EVMs and still using ballot papers.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s YSRC suffered a crushing defeat in the recent Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh, even as 70 per cent of the people in the state received his government’s generous welfare benefits. Large numbers of techies were actively working for YSRC’s defeat and success of Telugu Desam led by Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
Jagan Mohan Reddy’s call came shortly after tech billionaire Elon Musk said hacking was possible with EVMs and hence this system of voting should be avoided.
Jagan Mohan Reddy said, “Just as justice should not only be served but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy. It should not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent, without any doubt whatsoever,” he said in his social media post.
In the past five years, the YSRC, though not part of either NDA or UPA, extended critical support to the Narendra Modi government on key legislations. But in this election, the BJP allied with its arch-rival, the Chandrababu-led Telugu Desam and the Jana Sena and outwitted the YSRC in the Assembly and LS polls.
The NDA alliance won 164 out of 175 assembly seats, reducing the YSRC score to just 11. Of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state, NDA won 21 and the YSRC four.
Jagan Mohan Reddy's post hints at a political realignment at the national level, which can compound the troubles for the ruling BJP in Parliament, now that it does not have a majority and needs full backing from its NDA partners to stay in power.
The YSRC now has four MPs in Lok Sabha and 11 in Rajya Sabha. YSRC Rajya Sabha member V. Vijayasai Reddy said his party may have lost power in AP, but not its major strength in the upper house is crucial. "Please remember that the BJP and the central government need our support to pass bills in Rajya Sabha. There should be no doubt. We are as strong as the TD even though we have lost power in the state," he said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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