Navi Mumbai: The Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) claimed on Friday that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory in the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) elections was a result of tampered electronic voting machines (EVMs).
PWP leader Vivek Patil said, “The BJP has won the election because of corruption and EVM tampering. Most of the BJP candidates have criminal background and are involved in serious offences. It is difficult to believe that people would have elected them. A few days ago, we had received information that the BJP had brought a team from Pune to tamper the EVMs. Around that time, the BJP had predicted the number of seats it would win in each ward, and it has won the exact number. This is a clear indication that the EVMs were tampered with. We have written about this to the returning officer and will also write to the Election Commission. If needed, we will take this to court as well. EVMs in seven wards were tampered.”
Pritam Mhatre, the PWP candidate from Ward 18, said the huge loss margins were a matter of suspicion. “For 20 years, our corporators have served Panvel residents. Losing a seat by a few votes is understood, but with such a vast difference, I am sure it is nothing but EVM tampering,” he said. He won Ward 18A with 52% votes.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Prashant Thakur rubbished the allegations. “People voted for us because of their belief that we will bring about development. Those who failed will always find excuses for their failure by making irrelevant allegations. We have worked for the development of the city, and we will continue to do so,” Mr. Thakur said.
The BJP won 51 of the 78 seats in the PCMC, while PWP won 23, and Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won two each. The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena failed to win any.
Of the 2.33 lakh voters (55%) who turned up to cast their ballot, 19,857 opted for the ‘none of the above’ (NOTA) option. While Ward 19 had the highest number of NOTA votes at 1,527, Ward 1 had the lowest, with 543.
