“Elections Should Be Conducted Using Ballot Papers”: RJD Chief Lalu Yadav Advocates for Change in Voting System

Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Yadav has called for the replacement of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with ballot papers in upcoming elections. Speaking on Friday, Yadav expressed confidence in his party’s prospects for the Bihar elections scheduled for October-November 2025, stating, “Our party will win the Bihar elections… We will get the majority. The elections should be conducted using ballot papers.”

Kharge demanded the replacement of EVMs

Yadav’s remarks come amid growing concerns among opposition parties regarding the integrity of EVMs, particularly following the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Congress party, led by President Mallikarjun Kharge, has also voiced similar concerns. On November 26, Kharge demanded the replacement of EVMs, alleging that votes from marginalized communities, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), and the poor, are being wasted. “Set aside EVMs. We do not want EVMs; we want voting on ballot paper… Let them keep the machine at their home, at the home of PM Modi or Amit Shah… Then we would know where you (BJP-NDA) stand,” Kharge remarked during a Constitution Day program at Talkatora Stadium.

Kharge’s comments followed the Congress party’s significant defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, where the Mahayuti alliance, led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), secured a landslide victory. The BJP emerged as the largest party, winning 132 out of 280 seats, while its allies, the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. In contrast, the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi, which includes the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, the NCP led by Sharad Pawar, and the Congress, managed to secure only 46 seats.

Several Congress leaders, including Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Digvijaya Singh, G Parameshwara, and Chamala Kiran Kumar, have raised concerns about the BJP’s electoral success in Maharashtra, alleging manipulation of targeted polling booths through EVMs.

In a related development, the Supreme Court recently dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition seeking the reintroduction of the physical paper ballot voting system in elections across India.