Post the landslide victory of Modi-led BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, Asaduddin Owaisi criticised BJP for manipulating the minds of Hindus. In a statement, the leader of AIMIM Asaduddin Owaisi said, "EVM ki rigging nahi hui hai, Hindu mind ki rigging ho chuki hai (Not EVM, but Hindu minds have been rigged)".
Owaisi is fighting from the Hyderabad constituency and is seeking re-election for the fourth time. His opponent in Hyderabd is Dr Bhagavanth Rao of BJP.
Owaisi has also asked for the 100% matching of VVPAT slips. "Election Commission must show their independence, I believe VVPATs should be 100% (100 per cent matching of VVPAT slips with the Voting Machines)", Owaisi added.
This is for the first time in a Lok Sabha election that results of voting machines were being matched with slips generated by paper trail machines. As per the EC order, the exercise will take place in five polling stations per assembly segment. As per procedure, postal ballots would be the first to be counted.
Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency is the stronghold of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). The constituency is represented by the Owaisi family since 1984.
Earlier in 2014 Lok Sabha election, Asaduddin Owaisi won the Hyderabad constituency for the thirds consecutive time by winning over BJP's Bhagavanth Rao by over two lakh votes.
Meanwhile, people of India have given a strong mandate to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lead the country for the next five years. As the counting of votes comes to an end, the BJP seems set to form the government at the Centre once again. The BJP-led NDA is surging ahead with leads on 343 Lok Sabha seats.
Edited By: Udit Verma
Also read: Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: 5 ways to get real-time updates on counting day
Also read: Election results: Pragya Thakur wins from Bhopal against Digvijaya Singh