Naveen hints at BJD’s support for ballot paper voting

Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik said if election is held through ballot paper again, his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will support it. The BJD supremo made the statement while interacting with mediapersons after taking part at 28th BJD Foundation Day ceremony held at the party headquarters here on Thursday.

Answering a query on the role of alleged EVM irregularities in the defeat of BJD in 2024 elections, Patnaik said these allegations need to be examined carefully. The BJD supremo also targeted the rul-ing BJP over the EVM discrepancies saying that why the ruling party is disturbed over the memoran-dum presented to Election Commission of India (ECI) by the BJD seeking investigation into alleged irregularities in the EVM machine.

A BJD delegation on Monday presented a formal complaint to the ECI alleging a difference in the total votes polled in a booth and the total number of votes counted from the EVM of the booth. The BJD had also drawn the attention of the ECI towards a difference in the votes cast for the Lok Sabha and As-sembly elections despite the polls being held simultaneously.

Countering the allegations made by the BJD supremo, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pra-dhan said: “The EVM is good when you are winning but the same is flawed when you face defeat. This is pointing towards a feeling of desperation.” Pradhan said the BJD is in a shock following the defeat in the elections hence it is bringing such allegations.

Meanwhile, BJP State unit president Manmohan Samal said they should approach the ECI if they came to know about some discrepancies in polling six months after the elections. He noted that a polit-ical party can present its views on EVM before the Election Commission which will take the appropri-ate decision on the issue.