Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath on Tuesday expressed his surprise over the results of the Madhya Pradesh assembly election after he claimed that some former MLAs complained to him that they got not more than 50 votes in their seats. His claim resonates with his party colleague and Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh's remark on possible electoral malpractices during this election.
"We are holding discussions with the elected and non-elected MLAs and analysing the result. Some MLAs have met me, and one of them told me that he got only 50 votes in his own village. How is this possible?...Exit polls are done only to create an atmosphere," Kamal Nath told reporters earlier.
Also read: Kamal Nath may resign from Madhya Pradesh Congress chief post as leadership is upset
Kamal Nath's claim was in line with Digvijaya Singh's earlier remark on possible tampering with electronic voting machines (EVM). “Any machine with a chip can be hacked,” Singh wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
BJP and Congress among other Opposition parties are at loggerheads over the election result following Singh's remark which was also backed by leaders from the parties including National Conference and Shiv Sena (UBT).
“The poll results are unexpected and surprising but we respect the democratic process. When the mandate goes against your party, one has to accept it. However, the results of Madhya Pradesh are not only surprising but also shocking for us. The poll results in three of four states should be considered as the EVM mandate and it has to be accepted in that way only,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut said earlier.
{{/usCountry}}“The poll results are unexpected and surprising but we respect the democratic process. When the mandate goes against your party, one has to accept it. However, the results of Madhya Pradesh are not only surprising but also shocking for us. The poll results in three of four states should be considered as the EVM mandate and it has to be accepted in that way only,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Sanjay Raut said earlier.
{{/usCountry}}However, while asked if EVM was hacked, Kamal Nath said, “It would not be right to conclude without holding discussions. I will talk to everyone first,” while expressing surprise at the poll results. "Even you know what the mood was. Why are you asking me? Ask the people," he added.
The BJP won 163 seats in the 230-member assembly, pushing the Congress far behind with 66 seats.
Meanwhile, speculations of Kamal Nath's resignation as state Congress chief were rife following the party's defeat. He is likely to meet party president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday and may tender his resignation from the post, as per sources cited by PTI.