Swara Bhasker cries foul play, claims EVM's tampered after husband trails following steady lead
Mumbai: Actor and activist Swara Bhasker raised concerns about the functioning of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), after her husband Fahad Ahmad, the candidate from Sharad Pawar's NCP faction was trailing behind Sana Malik, the candidate from Ajit Pawar's NCP faction, by over 3,000 votes as counting nears completion.
Taking to micro-blogging platform ‘X’, Bhasker alleged irregularities in the voting process. “In Anushakti Nagar assembly seat, after a steady lead by Fahad Zirar Ahmad of NCP-SP till round 17, 18, 19, suddenly EVMs with 99% battery charge are opened, and BJP-supported NCP-Ajit Pawar candidate takes the lead,” she posted.
She further questioned the Election Commission, saying, “How can machines that have been voted on ALL day long still have 99% charged batteries? Why do all such EVMs favor BJP and its allies?” Bhasker tagged the Election Commission and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders, urging them to investigate the matter.
In addition, Fahad Ahmad also expressed skepticism over the results, stating he had been leading until the 17th round and vowed to seek clarification from the Election Commission.
The Anushakti Nagar contest has drawn significant attention, with a high stakes battle between Fahad Ahmed facing Sana Malik, daughter of veteran leader and former Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik.
The Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar Faction) contested on 87 seats, and is currently leading on 13 seats.
The Election Commission is yet to respond to the claims of irregularities.
In #AnushaktiNagar vidhaan sabha after a steady lead by @FahadZirarAhmad of NCP-SP.. round 17, 18, 19 suddenly 99% battery charger EVMs are opened and BJP supported NCP-Ajit Pawar candidate takes lead. How can machines that have been voted on ALL day long have 99% charged… https://t.co/GknxDWOb5v
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) November 23, 2024
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NDA's win in Bihar Assembly bypolls a matter of concern: Prashant Kishor
Patna, Nov 23: Political strategist turned activist Prashant Kishor on Saturday dubbed as "a matter of concern" the NDA's win in assembly by-polls in Bihar despite "failure" of the BJP-led coalition to end the state's chronic backwardness during it's decades-long rule.
Talking to reporters here shortly after the results were out, Kishor also drew succour from the fact that his fledgling Jan Suraaj won "10 per cent" of the total votes polled in four seats, but rubbished the claim that it had played a role in the RJD's defeat in three of these.
"RJD is a 30-year-old party. The son of its state president finished third. Can Jan Suraaj be faulted for that? In Belaganj all Muslim votes went to the JD(U) candidate. In Imamganj, the Jan Suraaj cut into NDA votes. Else, the victory margin of (Union minister) Jitan Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha would have been bigger", asserted Kishor.
Notably, Imamganj, a reserved seat, was retained by Manjhi's daughter-in-law Deepa, who defeated the RJD candidate by a thin margin of less than 6,000 votes. Jan Suraaj candidate Jitendra Paswan finished third, polling more than 37,000 votes.
When pointed out that in three of the four seats, candidates of Jan Suraaj had polled less than one-sixth of the total votes and ran the risk of losing their deposits, Kishor shot back "That should not be a matter of concern (chinta ki baat). If there is a matter of concern, it is the ability of the NDA to make a clean sweep despite having ruled Bihar for so long and "failed" to end the state's backwardness".
The IPAC founder, who had a brief stint in the JD(U), insisted that the party's supremo Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, was a "spent force" and its candidate, former MLC Manorama Devi, had won on her own steam.
"We have always said that our fight is with NDA, not with RJD despite its claim of being the largest party in Bihar.....(but) Nitish Kumar is no factor. His party polled just about 11 per cent of total votes", said Kishor.
About his own party's inability to make a mark, Kishor said "We have secured 10 per cent votes..... in seats where Jan Suraaj had no presence since these areas were yet to be covered by my padyatra. Also, please note that we got our poll symbol after filing of nomination papers was over".
He also maintained that the Jan Suraaj will go solo in the assembly polls due next year when it will contest "all 243 seats".
"We were initially written off but by garnering about 10 per cent votes, in a state known to vote along predictable caste lines, we have proved a point. In the next few months we shall be strengthening the organization to ensure that vote share of the Jan Suraaj improves", he said.
