Sachdeva attacks Congress over criticism of EVMs

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its criticism of electronic voting machines (EVMs). He asked the party to explain how it won the Kerala municipal elections if EVMs were allegedly biased in favour of the BJP. Sachdeva said the Congress had for years accused the Centre and the Election Commission of manipulating EVMs and repeatedly demanded a return to ballot paper voting.

He said the party’s stand had become contradictory after the Congress-led alliance secured victories in Kerala’s local body polls conducted using the same machines.

“The people of the country want an answer. If, as Congress leaders claim, every vote cast through EVMs goes to the BJP, then how did Congress win the municipal elections in Kerala using these very EVMs?” Sachdeva said.

He described the Congress’s objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise as an insult to the democratic mandate of voters across states such as Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi and Bihar. Sachdeva said questioning the credibility of electoral processes whenever results go against the Congress weakens public faith in democracy.

In his remarks, the Delhi BJP president also condemned slogans allegedly raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a recent Congress rally. He demanded a public apology from the Congress leadership, saying such language lowered the level of political discourse and disrespected the office of the Prime Minister.

Sachdeva termed the BJP’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram municipal elections as politically significant. He said the win in the Kerala capital reflected a shift in voter sentiment and described it as a “victory of nationalism and Sanatan Dharma”.

Drawing a broader political comparison, Sachdeva said 2025 marked a year of decline for what he called “pseudo-communist politics”. He claimed that former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal faced defeat in Delhi earlier in the year and that voters in Kerala had now signalled their intent to move away from communist parties by supporting the BJP in key urban centres. “The message is clear. At the start of 2025, people rejected pseudo-communist politics in Delhi. By the end of the year, Kerala had also decided to bid farewell to the communists,” he said.

Sachdeva maintained that repeated allegations against the Election Commission were attempts to delegitimise election outcomes. He said democratic institutions must be respected, especially when elections are conducted under established constitutional frameworks.

He added that the BJP’s electoral gains in regions traditionally dominated by the Left and Congress showed growing public trust in the party’s ideology and governance model. According to him, voters were responding to issues of national interest, cultural identity and development rather than political rhetoric.

The Congress has not issued a response to Sachdeva’s remarks so far. However, party leaders have earlier defended their position by reiterating concerns over electoral transparency and demanding reforms in the voting process.

The latest exchange comes amid heightened political tensions following recent local body election results and ongoing debates over electoral reforms. With several state elections scheduled in the coming months, the controversy over EVMs and election credibility is expected to remain a major point of political contestation.