Sharad Pawar visits Markadwadi, vows to fight for ballot paper elections

Sharad Pawar criticized the BJP and EC for halting a mock poll in Markadwadi, urging for a ballot paper re-poll amid EVM distrust post-elections.

MUMBAI: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar visited Markadwadi village in Solapur on Sunday, where a storm has been raging pertaining to the recent assembly election results. The villagers of Markadwadi, distrustful of the EVM results, had decided to conduct a mock poll using ballot papers on December 3 but were stopped in their tracks by the government and police, which booked over 200 of them.

Pawar visits Markadwadi, vows to fight for ballot paper elections

Coming down heavily on the BJP and Election Commission (EC) for prohibiting the mock poll, Pawar questioned under what law it was banned, and asked the village to pass a resolution for a ballot paper repoll. His visit to Markadwadi is considered significant, as the village has become a focal point in the opposition’s drive against EVMs. Congress leaders said that Rahul Gandhi too was expected to visit the village soon.

On Sunday, Pawar addressed a rally to demand the reintroduction of ballot papers. Backing the people of Markadwadi, he pointed out that many western countries, despite having introduced EVMs, had gone back to ballot papers. The NCP (SP) chief said he would also bring the mock poll suppression to the notice of CM Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam, PM Narendra Modi and the EC. “The CM told me that my statements on ballot papers were not correct,” he said. “But I wish to tell him that we don’t want politics here. We want our doubts to be clarified. The CM must come to Markadwadi and hear out people.”

Meanwhile state Congress chief Nana Patole said there was a strong sentiment among people that the new government did not reflect their mandate. “This sentiment is not confined to Markadwadi but resonates across villages in the state,” he said. “There is a growing public demand for voting through ballot papers, with village sabhas passing resolutions to this effect.”

Patole stated that if citizens had doubts about whether their vote was going to the candidate of their choice, these doubts needed to be resolved but the government had instead got together with the EC and police to suppress them. “The EC has failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for how 7.6 million votes were polled after 5 pm on the last day of voting,” he said. “Manipulating votes is akin to the daylight murder of democracy. If such dissatisfaction arises in a democracy, it must be addressed. As the opposition, we will fight for this both in the legislature and on the streets.”

When questioned, Solapur collector Kumar Ashirwad said the EVMs were checked in front of Uttam Jankar’s polling agent. “They have signed on the certificate, stating that the results were okay,” he said. “Hence there is no question of raising doubts about the actual poll.” Ashirwad added that the Markadwadi mock poll had been stopped as conducting elections was the sole prerogative of the EC.

BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule doled out election data from 2014, 2019 and 2024 to show that Markadwadi had always supported different political parties. “In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, NCP candidate Vijaysinh Mohite Patil received 533 votes while Mahayuti alliance candidate Sadabhau Khot got 664,” he said. “In the same year’s assembly elections, the NCP’s Hanumant Dolas got 294 votes while independent candidate Anant Khandagale got 979.

“In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP’s Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar received 956 votes while the NCP’s Sanjay Shinde got 395,” he continued. “However, in the assembly elections, the NCP’s Uttamrao Jankar received 1,346 votes, whereas BJP’s Ram Satpute got 300 votes. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, NCP (SP) candidate Dhairysheel Mohite Patil got 1,021 votes while the BJP’s Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar received 466 votes. Meanwhile, in the assembly elections, the NCP (SP)’s Uttamrao Jankar received 843 votes and the BJP’s Ram Satpute secured 1,003 votes.”

Bawankule concluded that “the villagers and our dear sisters” had rejected the MVA. “Therefore, instead of spreading misinformation and blaming the EVMs, carefully analyse the voting data from Markadwadi,” he said.