"Public has sidelined Congress," says BJP MP Sambit Patra, slams party for suspecting EVMs

"Yesterday (26 November) was Constitution Day, and on the occasion of Constitution Day, Mallikarjun Kharge said we have to remove EVMs and bring back ballot papers. Mallikarjun Kharge ji, whether you remove EVMs or not, the public has sidelined the Congress. Congress has been sidelined in the elections of almost every state. In Maharashtra, it has been completely wiped out. On one hand, the Mahayuti has won a huge victory in Maharashtra, while on the other hand, the Congress has been wiped out," said the BJP MP.

"I was very surprised that a senior leader like Mallikarjun Kharge ji said yesterday that the votes of SC-ST-OBC and poor people are getting wasted due to EVM. Does Mallikarjun Kharge ji and the people of the Congress party think that the SC-ST-OBC community is so illiterate that they do not know how to vote in EVM? Such thinking of Congress is an insult to the SC-ST-OBC community..." he added further.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge demanded the replacement of EVMs with ballot papers, alleging that votes from "SC, ST, OBC, and poor communities are being wasted."

He stated that the votes of people from SC, ST, and OBC communities, as well as poor communities, are being wasted. Set aside EVMs. We do not want EVMs; we want voting on ballot paper...Let them keep the machine at their home, at the home of PM Modi or Amit Shah...Then we would know where you (BJP-NDA) stand.

The Congress Chief's scathing remarks come on the heels of his party's crushing defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly election, where the Mahayuti alliance swept to power in a landslide victory with the BJP emerging as the biggest winner with 132 seats out of 280 in the Maharashtra assembly, while its allies--the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar--won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. (ANI)