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Ballots would have saved Congress: Uttam Kumar Reddy

Opposition parties have been opposing the use of EVMs and demanding that ballot papers must be used.

Hyderabad: The victory of T. Jeevan Reddy from the graduate's constituency in the Legislative Council elections has come as a huge relief to the Congress which has suffered a series of setbacks. It has also strengthened the argument of opposition parties that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are unreliable.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy said that if the assembly elections had been conducted through ballot papers, the Congress would have won.

EVMs were used in the December 2018 Assembly elections, which the TRS won comprehensively, but the usual ballot papers were used in the Legislative Council elections.

Opposition parties have been opposing the use of EVMs and demanding that ballot papers must be used. About 23 political parties - six national and 17 regional - have moved the Supreme Court demanding the random verification of at least 50% of EVMs in every assembly segment, using the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT)

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Telangana Congress affairs in-charge RC Khuntia alleged that the TRS won the recent assembly elections by 'managing' the EVMs, but faced a set-back when ballot papers were used in the LC elections.

Congratulating T Jeevan Reddy, Mr Khuntia said that this is a victory of the people of Telangana. He said that the results in three LC seats indicates the anti people policies of the Telangana government.

TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy commented that in the Lok Sabha elections the party will get the same results.

Meanwhile, TPCC treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy called on Congress MLAs who have defected to return to the party. He said that in all three LC seats Congress backed candidates won with huge majority.

“The mood of the people of Telangana was already against the TRS in the assembly elections; however, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao manipulated EVMs and indulged in other irregularities to win the polls," he alleged.

The Legislative Council elections have brought some much-needed relief to the Congress which is beset by defections of party MLAs and senior leaders. With the victory of Jeevan Reddy, the Congress will have a voice in the Telangana Legislative Council. The two Congress MLCs, Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy and Shabbier Ali, are retiring on March 29.

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