Visit of Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar to Markadwadi Following Mock Ballot Incident

Mumbai, Dec 6 (NationPress) Three days after a 'mock ballot paper' polling event in Solapur was disrupted by the Maharashtra Police, senior leaders from the INDIA alliance are anticipated to visit and engage with the villagers of Markadwadi in Malshiras soon, as per officials' statements released on Friday.

Congress leaders from Solapur traveled to the village to confer with Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Uttamrao S. Jankar to outline potential dates for a visit by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, to Markadwadi.

“In addition to Rahul Gandhi and NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar, other senior leaders are coordinating a visit to Markadwadi to meet the local villagers soon. We are finalizing the details,” Jankar informed IANS.

Jankar was a key figure in the movement against Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and Markadwadi gained national attention when approximately 2000 villagers organized a 'mock ballot paper polling' on December 3 (Tuesday), which was subsequently halted by local authorities.

The inspiration ignited by Markadwadi has now extended to Akola, where at least two villages conducted similar 'mock ballot paper polls' on December 6, as stated by the driving force behind it, Prakash Pohre.

“We had scheduled the test ballot paper polling in Tuljapur (Balapur) and Beltala (Patur) today. However, local authorities requested us to postpone due to B.R. Ambedkar Jayanti and the anniversary of the Babri Mosque occurring today,” Pohre revealed to IANS.

The chairman of the 'Deshonnati Group', a Marathi media conglomerate based in Akola, Pohre indicated that yesterday, thousands of individuals across 9-10 villages in multiple districts of Vidarbha protested against EVMs to send a message to the newly sworn-in MahaYuti government in Mumbai, which included Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reflecting the concerns of top leaders from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance after the state Assembly election results were announced on November 23, Pohre expressed that there are persistent doubts among the populace who suspect “something very fishy” about the election results that yielded an unexpected landslide victory for the ruling MahaYuti.

According to a Congress leader in Mumbai, they are awaiting updates from the Congress headquarters regarding Rahul Gandhi's prospective visit, particularly since the Winter Session of Parliament continues until December 20.

NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase stated that Sharad Pawar has spoken with Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA alliance leaders about taking the example from Markadwadi seriously and initiating a nationwide campaign against EVMs.

In addition to Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, other MVA leaders such as Uddhav Thackeray, Nana F. Patole, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, Priyanka Chaturvedi, Balasaheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar, M. Arif Naseem Khan, Dr. Jitendra Awhad, Clyde Crasto, Ashok Dhawale, Prakash Ambedkar, Kishore Tiwari, and others have raised concerns regarding EVMs, advocating for a return to traditional ballot paper voting.

Meanwhile, Pohre mentioned that after discussions with the residents of Tuljapur and Beltala (Akola), the 'mock ballot paper poll' is likely to be rescheduled around December 15, as demands from other districts to conduct similar exercises are increasing.

The complete defeat of the MVA coalition consisting of Congress, NCP (SP), and Shiv Sena (UBT) by the MahaYuti alliance of Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party has shocked the political landscape of the state, leading the Opposition to suspect irregularities with the EVMs, citing discrepancies in voter turnout and counting.

However, both the Election Commission of India and the Maharashtra State Election Commission have strongly refuted these claims, even inviting a Congress delegation for discussions in New Delhi on Monday to address concerns about EVM manipulation.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at qnajmi@gmail.com)