After Andhra rout, Jagan bats for paper ballots over EVM

YSRCP supremo YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Tuesday called for paper ballots to replace Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in elections.

Following a humiliating electoral debacle in the recently held assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh, the former chief minister claimed that almost every advanced democracy uses paper ballots.

"In electoral practices across the world in almost every advanced democracy, paper ballots are used, not EVMs," Reddy said in a post on 'X'.

To uphold the true spirit of our (India) democracy, the Andhra Pradesh opposition leader opined that 'we too must move towards the same (postal ballots)'.

"Just as justice should not only be served, but should also appear to have been served, so should democracy not only prevail but must appear to be prevalent undoubtedly," he added.

YSRCP was relegated to just 11 assembly and four Lok Sabha seats in the recently concluded simultaneous elections in Andhra Pradesh.

The NDA comprising Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janasena won a landslide victory by securing 164 assembly seats out of 175. Of the 25 Lok Sabha seats, the alliance got 21 seats.