There seem to be further cracks developing in the Congress-led Opposition INDIA Bloc, as Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and head of National Conference Omar Abdullah on Sunday categorically rejected the grand old party’s crying over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) after losing elections.

Omar is one of the important ally of the INDIA Bloc and his resentment against Congress comes within one week which saw other constituents like Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), Lalu Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) echoed similar views and called for Congress must rethink and give up its Big brother attitude after the party had dismal performance in the just concluded Assembly polls in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and J & K where the party was outshined by their principle ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC), respectively.  

“When you get a hundred plus members of Parliament using the same EVMs, and you celebrate that as sort of a victory for your party, you can’t then a few months later turn around and say... We don’t like these EVMs because now the election results aren’t going the way we would like them to,” Abdullah, currently in Delhi, said.

The J & K CM said political parties should not contest elections if they do not trust the voting mechanism. “If you have problems with the EVMs, then you should be consistent in those problems,” he said.

Going against the INDIA Bloc thought process, Omar also reiterated his stand for the New Parliament Building and the upcoming massive Central Vista. “Central Vista project is a good idea to develop in the Lutyens’ and I also have read out my mind for a new Parliament building as the old one has outlived,” he said.

After having gained in this year Lok Sabha polls and then incurring electoral loss in the Haryana and Maharashtra Assembly polls three months, Congress has expressed doubts about the EVM and have been questioning the election results demanding a return to the paper ballot. On this front Samajwadi Party, NCP have backed the Congress while parties like RJD, NCP and TMC have raised the leadership crisis for the bloc and have backed TMC supremo to lead the INDIA Bloc.  

Even during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament, the opposition parties have come on divided lines on several issues and some of the constituents have blamed even Congress for the regular disruptions of the Session.  

Omar too has regretted that Congress is not doing enough a prominent role as the leader of the bloc leading to the current resentment. Not only this even the allies have taken against each like Shiv Sena (UBT) alleging that the Samajwadi Party’s Maharashtra unit has been behaving like the BJP’s “B team”.