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Mayawati Accuses BJP Of Rigging Election Voting Machines In UP

"These election results are very surprising."
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

LUCKNOW -- Terming the Uttar Pradesh election results as "very surprising", Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday alleged that voting machines had been "managed" to favour the BJP and that her party has asked the Election Commission to cancel the results in the state and in Uttarakhand.

"These election results are very surprising. It is very difficult to accept them," said Mayawati, whose Bahujan Samaj Party, which was touted to do well, has fared poorly in the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand state elections.

"The reports I got have raised the suspicion that the voting machines have been managed... It appears that voting machines have not registered votes cast in favour of other parties, or all the votes have been polled for the BJP. Even Muslim votes have gone to the BJP," she said.

Her comments come as the Bharatiya Janata Party is poised to sweep both the northern states.

Referring to the general election of 2014, Mayawati said, "In 2014, my party members informed me about this.. and it was also brought to the attention of the Election Commission."

Mayawati asked the national leadership of BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah, to write to the Election Commission demanding a fresh election through ballot papers.

"We have also written to the Election Commission," she said and demanded the EC immediately drop the results of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and asked for an investigation into the "tampering" of voting machines by a team of foreign experts.

"The way the results are coming, especially in the Muslim majority areas, this should be taken seriously," she added.

"If this system (Electronic Voting Machines) persists in 2019, then fighting elections for the opposition will be of no consequence," she added.

People have lost faith in the voting machines, she added.

Speaking on the results of Punjab, where the Congress is poised to win, she said, "If they had done mischief in Punjab then they would have got caught."

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.