Lok Sabha Polls: Congress leader Digvijaya Singh campaigning in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has come up with a novel idea to ensure voting for the Lok Sabha election is done via ballot papers instead of EVMs, or electronic voting machines, at least for one constituency.
The former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, now 77, returns this election to his family's home seat of Rajgarh, which he won in 1984 and 1991, and his brother, Laxman Singh, held from 1994 to 2004. Initially reluctant to enter the electoral fray, he was persuaded to stand against sitting BJP MP Rodmal Nagar.
Mr Singh on Sunday began his campaign with a 'Vadha Nibhao Padyatra' to flag the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's unfulfilled promises from before last year's Assembly election.
He spoke to NDTV while on the campaign trail, and said, "We should field 400 candidates for the Rajgarh Lok Sabha seat... so the election is done via ballot paper and not through EVM."
"If 400 candidates stand, then the election will be done through ballot paper (and) the machine will be destroyed," he explained, suggesting a crowdfunding campaign to come up with the funds needed to field that many candidates.
"A candidate has to deposit Rs 25,000 as security (Rs 12,500 for candidates from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribes. So we will collect donations from the people and use them," he explained, adding, "If elections are held through ballot paper, the BJP will not win."
Mr Singh's attack on EVMs - echoed by other members of his party and other opposition leaders, all of whom have alleged manipulation of the machine by the BJP - comes after he had experts from Gujarat offer support to his claims via a mock poll at his Bhopal home.
The EVM models in use today handle up to 384 candidates at a single polling station; this is done by connecting 24 balloting units, or BUs, in a series to a single master control unit.
The Congress leader had questioned the accuracy and transparency of EVMs after his party's big defeats last year in the Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh elections.
READ | After Congress' Defeats, Digvijaya Singh Questions Voting Machines
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Singh said, "Any machine with a chip can be hacked. I have opposed voting by EVM since 2003. Can we allow our democracy to be controlled by hackers? This is the fundamental question which all political parties have to address to."
Mr Singh contested the 2019 election from Bhopal, but lost to the BJP's Pragya Thakur by 3.64 lakh votes. Ahead of this election, he has urged voters to hold Chief Minister Mohan Yadav's government to account over promises unmet 100 days into the new government.
The BJP, for its part, has played down Mr Singh's comments.
The party's state boss, VD Sharma, accused his Congress rival of not trusting the Constitution. "He lies 24 hours... They (the Congress) enjoy attacking religion, values of Hinduism, culture... why should we waste energy on such people? Why should we answer?"
"Due to fear of massive defeat and seizure of security deposit, Digvijaya Singh is saying people do not want to vote through EVM but through ballot paper. Are you the Election Commission? What are you? Digvijaya Singh ji, country is governed by laws. If you are playing the role of Election Commission, then submit an application (saying), 'I want to work in Election Commission'," Mr Sharma said.
READ | Digvijaya Singh Wants Ballot Papers As He Fears Defeat: BJP Leader
The Rajgarh seats covers eight Assembly segments across three districts - Guna, Rajgarh and Agar-Malwa - and goes to the polls in the third phase, i.e., on May 7. The 2024 Lok Sabha election will be held across seven phases beginning April 19, with results due on June 4.