After BJP’s impressive victory in the Delhi MCD polls, a number of AAP party members along with Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra called for introspection over the party’s overthrow in the polls saying that the loss cannot be blamed only on EVMs even as the party leadership alleged “rigging” of voting machines.
This comes as a counter to Arvind Kejriwal’s allegation over faulty EVMs used during the poll questioning the fairness of elections.
“This is the time to introspect why we had to see this day after two years. Whether it a Modi wave or not, it has become clear that people have not voted for us. Today’s reality is we have got very few seats in comparison to the massive mandate we got in 2015. The results cannot be viewed only by blaming the EVMs,” Mishra said.
He added that he views the poll’s results as a ‘BJP wave’ which already exists in Delhi. However, senior AAP leader and Labour Minister Gopal Rai had said there is “no Modi wave”, but an “EVM wave,” alleging tampering of electronic voting machines. Also, many party workers and volunteers who form the backbone of the party are also refusing to the claims made by AAP regarding their loss due to faulty EVMs.
“The reasons are shocking as we did not expect to do so badly. Although the party blames EVMs for the defeat and we need to look into the reasons behind the loss, my view is different. But I shall toe the party line on this,” said an MLA from Central Delhi said.
In Punjab, party MP Bhagwant Mann said there was no use in finding fault with EVMs and the party should introspect on the reasons behind its defeat in the recent Assembly polls. He also slammed the leadership for “behaving like a ‘mohalla’ (local) cricket team,” and said AAP had committed a “historic blunder” in Punjab with regard to the overall electoral strategy. Mann was backed by AAP Punjab state convener Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi in this context.
“Looking at the situation, it seems that there is an EVM wave in Delhi,” Sisodia said. “There is no reason why people should vote for the BJP (in the MCD polls). We will analyse the reasons behind our defeat. We would have understood had there been a difference of 2-4 seats, but the margin between the two parties can only happen by rigging the EVMs,” Sisodia said commenting on the above remarks.
