Patna, (Samajweekly) RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui said on Monday that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were not hacked during the Assembly elections in Bihar.
“I believe EVMs were not hacked during elections. Rather, party members who were not active during the elections led to the party’s defeat. Many party workers did not not reach the booths on the polling days. Hence, there was more chance of rigging,” Siddiqui said during the party’s ‘Manthan’ meeting here.
RJD convened the Manthan meeting to find out the reasons for the defeat of the Mahagathbandhan during the recently concluded Assembly elections in Bihar. The meeting was held at the RJD head office located at Veerchand Patel Path in Patna. Leaders like Tejashwi Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, Bihar state chief Jagadanand Singh and other senior leaders were present at the meeting. Tejashwi Yadav returned from Ranchi after meeting his father Lalu Prasad.
Sources said that Lalu Prasad has given full authority to Tejashwi Yadav to take action against leaders or members who were involved in anti-party activities during the elections.
Siddiqui himself lost the Assembly elections against Murari Mohan Jha of the BJP from the Keoti Assembly constituency.
“The party has asked every losing candidate to give written notes, pointing out the reasons for their defeat. Our top leadership will analyse every complain followed by recommendations to take action against those involved in anti-party activities,” Siddiqui said.
RJD MLA Sudhakar Singh blamed the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi for under performance in the elections.
“There is a question mark over the leadership quality of Rahul Gandhi within his own party. Senior leaders like Kapil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad have questioned his leadership quality. Congress should self-analyse about its poor performance, not only in Bihar, but also elsewhere,” Singh said.
RJD contested on 144 seats and won 75 seats in Bihar, while Congress contested on 70 seats and managed to won only 19 seats.
