Election News Digest: Opposition Demands 50% VVPAT Count, to Approach SC

Mumbai: Opposition parties on Tuesday renewed their demand for verifying 50% of the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) voter slips with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), and announced plans to launch a fresh challenge in the Supreme Court on the issue.

Coinciding with the third phase of polling in the country, leaders of major national opposition parties addressed a joint press conference here, contending that "the EVMs are susceptible to malfunctioning, manipulations and hacking".

Making a PowerPoint presentation to prove his contentions, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the 23 major opposition parties will file a review plea in the apex court on the EVM-VVPAT issue and back it up with other petitions soon.

"What we are demanding is something that can be done... it is easily achievable," Naidu said.

Pawar said "people are in a mood to change the present government, but the main worry is manipulation through EVMs."

Discussing the opposition's demand that the Election Commission of India (ECI) count 50 per cent of VVPAT slips, Shinde said it is "not an unreasonable demand."

Accusing the ECI of behaving like a "Dhritarashtra", AAP's Singh alleged that "you press any button in the EVMs but the vote goes to BJP".

BJP, Cong candidates file nominations in Delhi

New Delhi: Several prominent candidates including former chief minister Sheila Dikshit, BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, Olympic bronze medallist Vijender Singh and cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir filed their nominations for the May 12 Lok Sabha polls in Delhi on Tuesday, the last day to enter the fray.

All seven candidates of the Congress -- former Delhi minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, former Delhi Congress chief Jai Prakash Agarwal, former Union minister Ajay Maken, Delhi Congress working president Rajesh Lilothia, former Cong MP Mahabal Mishra along Dikshit and Singh filed their papers.

BJP candidates Punjabi singer Hans Raj Hans, sitting MP from South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency Ramesh Bidhuri and BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi filed their nominations besides Gambhir.

Delhi is witnessing a triangular fight involving the Congress, the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in this Lok Sabha election. All seven seats in the city will go to polls in the sixth phase on May 12.

SP’s Shalini Yadav to challenge Modi in Varanasi

Lucknow:The Samajwadi Party (SP)  has fielded Shalini Yadav as the joint candidate of the SP-BSP alliance in Varanasi to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha elections.

A light-weight candidate, Shalini Yadav has unsuccessfully contested the Mayoral polls in Varanasi on a Congress ticket in 2017. She is the daughter of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Shyamlal Yadav.

Samajwadi Party sources said that none of the senior party leaders in the region were willing to contest against the Prime Minister and the party then decided to field Shalini Yadav who joined the party on Monday evening.

Meanwhile, there was speculation that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might contest against Modi from Varanasi.

On Tuesday, she said she would abide by the party decision in this regard. "I have said this repeatedly that I will do what the party asks me to do," Priyanka Gandhi said, adding that people were feeling harassed and wanted a change.

The Varanasi seat had been won by Murli Manohar Joshi in 2009 and became a VIP seat in 2014 when Modi defeated his nearest rival Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party by a huge margin of over 3.75 lakh votes.

Raids in Badaun to trace missing minister

Lucknow: District officials in Badaun carried out raids at several places after allegations that UP minister Swami Prasad Maurya was camping in the constituency from where his daughter Sanghmitra Maurya is a candidate.

Samajwadi Party nominee Dharmendra Yadav continued to claim that the minister was in the constituency even though he was not found during the raids

According to the model code of conduct, all outsiders, including ministers, are required to leave the constituency when the campaigning ends unless they happen to be voters of that constituency.

Two days ago, Sanghmitra Maurya was caught on camera purportedly encouraging her supporters to indulge in fake voting.