Indore: 'Fear' drives BJP, Congress to guard strongroom

INDORE: Despite a three-layer security cover for EVMs, both BJP and Congress have asked their workers to guard strongroom till May 23.


Voting for eight Lok Sabha constituencies in Malwa-Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh concluded on Sunday. Now, the political parties don’t want to take any risk of results being manipulated by any means.

“There is government of Congress in state and we fear they can misuse their power to manipulate results by adopting illegal means. We have asked party workers across the state to stay alert. They have been asked to inform senior leaders on witnessing any suspicious activity outside the strongroom,” BJP state media in-charge Lokendra Parashar told TOI.

Similar instructions have been issued by chief minister Kamal Nath to Congress candidates. “In a meeting with candidates in the fray, the chief minister has asked them to ensure presence of their representatives when strongroom will be opened for counting. It will be responsibility of local candidates to deploy their volunteers outside the strongroom to guard the EVMs stored there,” MPCC media cell in-charge Shobha Oza told TOI.

She added that around 70,000 postal ballots had been issued in state and there counting would be held before beginning of counting on EVMs. “In the close encounter, the result can be differed due to miscounting of postal ballots,” Oza said.

In Indore, a few Congress workers led by local leader Vivek Khandelwal sat outside Nehru Stadium late on Monday. But they were asked by police officials to leave the place as they had not obtained any permission for it.

“To sit outside the stadium, no permission is required. We were there to guard the EVMs after we received an audio message of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to remain vigilant until counting is over,” Khandelwal told TOI.

On Tuesday, an independent candidate Parmanand Tolani also deployed his supporter at the stadium to guard the machines as he, too, feared tampering with the EVMs.