Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday slammed the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for its allegations against electronic voting machines (EVMs) following its defeat in the recently concluded state assembly elections. Shinde accused the opposition of misleading the public and refusing to acknowledge the people’s verdict.
Speaking to reporters, Shinde said the ruling Mahayuti alliance—comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP—secured a resounding victory in the November 20 assembly elections due to its governance and development initiatives. The Mahayuti swept 230 out of 288 seats, while the opposition bloc of Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP) managed only 46 seats.
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The opposition has alleged irregularities with EVMs and demanded a return to ballot paper voting. Addressing these claims, Shinde remarked, “When you win, there is no EVM scam, but the machine becomes bad when you lose. This is not the right approach.”
He claimed the opposition must accept the people’s mandate that they have been decisively defeated. “In the Lok Sabha elections, 2.48 crore votes went to the Mahayuti, which is 43.55 per cent. The MVA polled 2.5 crore votes, which was 43.71 per cent. Still, the opposition got 31 seats, and Mahayuti won 17. Should we say there was an EVM scam?” he asked, as PTI reported.
The deputy chief minister also pointed out the inconsistency in the opposition’s stance, noting that its leaders, who boycotted the swearing-in ceremony on Saturday to protest the EVM issue, took their oaths as MLAs the following day. “Does this mean they have abandoned the issue?” he questioned.
Shinde dismissed the opposition’s claims as baseless, citing instances where the MVA had secured victories in Jharkhand’s assembly election and Lok Sabha bypolls in Nanded (Maharashtra) and Wayanad (Kerala). “People have given us the mandate for our work. Stop crying and accept the development work we have done. Accept the mandate,” he said.
In response to comments by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, who had called the election results surprising, Shinde’s ally and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took to social media platform X, urging Pawar to stop misleading the public. “You will come out of this if you accept defeat. I expect you to give your colleagues advice on introspection,” Fadnavis posted.
Addressing concerns about governance, Shinde assured that the government operates in adherence to constitutional principles. Responding to reports of the Waqf Board issuing notices to farmers in Latur, he pledged that “there will be no illegal work and no injustice to anyone.”