Bihar: Remember Lalu Era Violence, Says JD(U) On Ballot Paper Voting

The Janata Dal (United) has strongly opposed the Congress Party’s call for reverting to the use of ballot papers in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. The JD(U) made its stand clear in an all-party meeting arranged by the Election Commission by recalling the rampant rigging of elections prevalent in the years when Lalu Prasad Yadav was at the helm in Bihar.

The Congress Party has led the chorus for switching away from Electronic Voting Machines (EVM’s) to the ballot paper as allegations have been raised over the integrity of EVM’s. However, the JD(U) representative batted for the continuation of EVM’s with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) as the system allowed the voters to confirm that their votes were registered against the party they supported.

Recalling the violent elections before the introduction of the EVM’s where rigging of ballot boxes was rampant, the JD (U) representative said that the demand for reverting to the old system betrayed a lack of confidence.

Incidentally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) which was in power prior to 2005 has not led the government in Bihar since the introduction of EVM’s in polling.