Congress defies NCP on EVM; Maharashtra chief Nana Patole backs law to allow paper ballots

Deepening the rift among the Maharashtra allies NCP and Congress, newly-appointed state Congress chief  Nana Patole, on Thursday, differed from Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on EVMs' effectiveness. Claiming that it's a person's right to vote via ballot paper if needed, he backed the state government's move to form a law allowing voting via paper ballots. Pawar, on the other hand, has affirmed 'full faith in EVMs', displaying a rare difference of opinion between UPA allies - NCP and Congress.

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Pawar: 'EVM is working well'

On Thursday, Pawar pointed out that Congress had won the Assembly election in Rajasthan and Punjab using the same EVMs. In a candid admission, the NCP leader stated that leaders across the political spectrum cry foul over EVMs only when they lose in an election. Stressing that there is no truth in the allegations, he reposed full faith in the functioning of the EVMs. Patole, during his term as the Speaker, had asked the state government to frame a law to give people the option of casting votes via ballot paper in local bodies and Assembly polls.

"There is no truth in this. EVM is working well. Paperless work goes on. I have full faith in EVMs," he added.

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Congress-Sena & NCP rift

Sena has often clashed with its ideological polar opposite Congress since the formation of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance over issues like Hindutva, CAA, NRC, Ram Janmabhoomi, Savarkar, COVID-19 etc, with NCP playing the peacemaker. Several ministers from NCP and Congress have accused Uddhav Thackeray of depending more on bureaucrats than his alliance partners, alleging that they were being 'sidelined'. Congress ministers - Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan have openly stated that the party has had no say in any of the decisions being taken by the Thackeray government and added that 'Sena is not part of UPA', dismissing Sena's comments regarding replacing Sonia Gandhi with Sharad Pawar as UPA chairperson.

Most recently, Sena has angered Congress and NCP with its demand to rename Aurangabad as 'Sambhajinagar' and  Osmanabad as Dharashiv. Amid Congress and NCP's refusal to go ahead with the renaming Thackeray intensified it by referring to Osmanabad as Dharashiv, adding, "Aurangazeb was not secular, hence the issue did not fall under the MVA's agenda". While BJP and MNS have backed Sena, other parties like VBA, AIMIM, and RPI too have opposed the renaming of the city.

Aurangabad row: Congress claims 'Sena wants to rename city for votes', calls it a 'farce'