Bring Back Ballot Papers Else Congress Will Stop Contesting Elections: Senior Party Leader

New Delhi: Congress will not contest upcoming elections until the ballot paper mechanism is reintroduced, senior party leader and former Chhattisgarh minister Kawasi Lakhma said on Wednesday.

Lakhma said meetings will be held with INDIA bloc allies over AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's demand for bringing in the ballot paper mechanism, Congress party will not contest upcoming elections until ballot papers are reintroduced. Congress will speak to all alliance partners (of INDIA bloc) and launch protests, Lakhma said.

"Mallikarjun Kharge ji gave a statement yesterday. Now meetings will take place (with alliance partners). Currently, the Lok Sabha session is underway. After meeting with INDIA bloc partners further course of action will be chalked out," he added.

A day earlier, Kharge had criticised the electronic voting system and demanded a return to the ballot paper mechanism earlier in use for elections.

Notably, the Supreme Court Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking to revert to paper ballot voting in elections in the country, saying allegations of tampering with electronic voting machines (EVM) raked up only when people lose polls.

The Congress' ballot paper demand came against the backdrop of the crushing defeat the opposition MVA suffered in the Maharashtra assembly elections which saw the BJP -led Mahayuti clinching a landslide victory by winning 230 out of 288 seats. 

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