Thaindian News

Guwahati, May 17 (IANS) Mizo National Front (MNF) president and former Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga Thursday blamed the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs) for defeat of regional parties like his and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and charged the Congress with manipulating the devices.

He also appealed the regional parties in the northeast to press the Election Commission for use of EVMs with paper printouts, which, according to him, will doubly ensure the real mandate of the people is honoured.

Speaking as the chief guest at the 9th triennial conference of the AGP here, Zoramthanga blamed the ruling Congress-led central government for manipulating the EVMs across the country, particularly in the northeast.

“The Congress won the elections in 2008 in Mizoram and in 2011 in Assam. But the main trickster is the EVMs. They have manipulated the EVMs and that is the reason that the Congress could predict in Mizoram that they would win 32 out of 40 assembly seats in Mizoram — which they did,” he said, alleging “a similar trick” was carried out in Assam as well.

“I have been winning consecutively for 21 years in my constituency and in all the elections in Mizoram, the margin of winning candidate is maximum 500 votes. In 2008, when I was height of power as chief minister, I was defeated by over 1,000 votes. Anyone can analyse the results and find out that it is the result of manipulations in the EVMs,” he said.

“We have taken up with the EC for the use of EVMs with paper printouts and I hope the AGP will also press the EC over the same,” said Zoramthanga while appealing all the regional political parties to press the EC on the same issue, so that the Congress cannot manipulate election results in future.

The veteran politician also appealed for better coordination among the regional parties in the northeast to prevent the “onslaught” of national parties.

“The MNF as well as the AGP are the symbols of nationalism in their respective states. The political parties who are born out of the womb of Delhi should not have a place here and then only we would be out of the hegemony of Delhi,” he said.

Terming the national political parties as “guests” in the northeast, he said: “In Mizoram, we (MNF) are coming back to power in the next elections. In Assam too, I want to see a government formed by the owners of the land and not by the ‘guests’.”

“We must close our doors to the guests now before they uproot us,” Zoramthanga said while stressing that it was the need of the hour that the regional forces unite in the region.