Mayawati Demands Return to Ballot Papers, Alleging EVM Rigging in Lok Sabha Election and Warning of Eroding Faith in Democracy

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati has urged the Election Commission of India to abolish Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and reinstate the ballot paper system following serious allegations of machine manipulation in the Nagina Lok Sabha constituency. Mayawati warned that persistent doubts surrounding vote counting accuracy and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) limitations threaten to destroy public faith in Indian democracy, particularly among Dalit and marginalized communities. Despite these growing opposition concerns, political analysts expect opposition parties to participate via EVMs in the upcoming 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | September 28, 2026

1. Core Allegations and Constitutional Mandate: Mayawati’s Challenge to the Election Commission

Addressing media representatives at the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) headquarters in Lucknow on September 28, 2026, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati launched an incisive critique against the national electoral architecture, directly challenging the Election Commission of India (ECI) on its constitutional mandates.

Her press conference unfolded against the backdrop of an escalating political row involving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and widespread institutional controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral roll exercise. Framing her address through the lens of electoral governance, Mayawati positioned the dispute over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) not merely as a tactical political grievance, but as a fundamental threat to constitutional legitimacy and democratic stability.

Mayawati invoked Article 324 of the Constitution of India, which vests the superintendence, direction, and control of elections in the ECI, reminding the regulatory authority that Parliament has enacted specific legal frameworks to ensure elections remain demonstrably free and fair. Central to her argument is the absolute inviolability of voter intent. She asserted that every citizen’s constitutional right to choose a government requires an uncompromised tallying mechanism wherein a vote cast for a specific candidate or party is registered solely for that entity and never diverted to another.

Any systemic divergence or administrative failure to guarantee this exact alignment, Mayawati warned, leads directly to “the murder of democracy, which will come under the category of a heinous crime.” She emphasized that unaddressed misconceptions regarding EVM integrity severely erode public confidence in democratic institutions.

Crucially, Mayawati highlighted the profound sociological impact of this institutional distrust, observing that persistent apprehension surrounding EVMs directly weakens her party supporters’ inclination to cast votes. This voter apathy disproportionately disenfranchises oppressed communities, Dalits, and extremely backward classes, suppressing turnout among marginalized populations who feel their constitutional voice has been compromised.

These systemic vulnerabilities and their psychological toll on the electorate are acutely demonstrated by recent electoral outcomes in key Uttar Pradesh constituencies.

2. Case Study in Disputed Outcomes: EVM Manipulation Claims in Nagina

Mayawati’s recent assertions signal a strategic shift in her political messaging, transitioning from generalized procedural critiques to targeted allegations against regional factions and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). By directly disputing the outcome in the Nagina reserved Lok Sabha constituency, the BSP supremo leveled explicit charges regarding the technological manipulation of electronic voting mechanisms to reconfigure political representation within reserved electorates.

At the center of Mayawati’s claims is her assertion that Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief Chandrashekhar Azad possessed no genuine political support base in Nagina, but was engineered to win the parliamentary seat through EVM rigging executed to harm the BSP. Official Election Commission data for the Nagina constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha election records the following verified results:

• Chandrashekhar Azad (Azad Samaj Party – Kanshi Ram): 5,12,552 votes (51.19% vote share, winning by a margin of 1,51,473 votes).
• Om Kumar (BJP): Runner-up (3,61,079 votes).
• Manoj Kumar (Samajwadi Party): 1,02,374 votes.
• Surendra Pal Singh (BSP): 13,272 votes.

Evaluating this outcome, Mayawati alleged that Chandrashekhar Azad operates at the direct behest of the BJP to split the Dalit vote and destabilize the BSP’s foundational base. She charged him with misleading young citizens, staging public confrontations, and organizing protests that ultimately ruin the futures of impressionable youth by entangling them in complex legal and court proceedings. According to Mayawati, this arrangement enables the ruling party to undermine established Dalit leadership while maintaining political leverage through artificial electoral mandates.

These specific allegations in Nagina highlight broader historical and technological debates surrounding the reliability of electronic voting technology in India.

3. Historical Inconsistency and Technological Vulnerabilities: EVMs, VVPATs, and the Ballot Paper Legacy

The persistent controversy over electronic voting contrasts India’s five-decade tradition of physical paper ballots with contemporary digital polling infrastructure. From the country’s first general elections until the late 1990s, voting was conducted entirely via paper ballots. Under that historical governance model, ballot boxes were sealed, transported, and physically opened and counted in the direct presence of official polling agents representing every contesting candidate, ensuring immediate local verification and public oversight.

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Mayawati highlighted what she characterized as ideological inconsistency by the ruling party regarding voting technology. She noted that when the Congress party held power at the Centre, the BJP vehemently opposed EVMs, publishing a book detailing machine vulnerabilities and alleging that electronic microchips inside the devices could be easily hacked or remotely manipulated. At the time, the BJP argued that EVMs were rejected by most advanced democracies due to these security risks and claimed Congress derived unfair electoral advantages from electronic voting. However, upon assuming central governance, the BJP retained and expanded the EVM architecture rather than abolishing it.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                            EVOLUTION OF VOTING CONCERNS                           |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  1950s - Late 1990s  |  Paper Ballots used for 5 decades; counted publicly        |
|                      |  in direct presence of party representatives.              |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  EVM Introduction    |  BJP initially opposes EVMs under Congress rule,           |
|                      |  citing hackable electronic chips and publishing books.    |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Supreme Court Mandate|  BSP challenges EVMs legally; Supreme Court orders         |
|                      |  implementation of VVPAT audit trail machines.              |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Current Impasse     |  Opposition notes VVPAT slips are not fully matched to     |
|                      |  EVM counts; BSP demands immediate return to paper ballots.|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

The BSP previously brought this challenge to the Supreme Court of India, seeking a judicial directive to reinstate paper ballots. While the court maintained the electronic system, it ordered the integration of Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units to introduce a physical verification layer. However, from an electoral governance perspective, Mayawati contends that VVPATs fail to resolve procedural doubts because the Election Commission does not count or cross-verify 100 percent of physical VVPAT paper slips against electronic EVM tallies.

From an administrative stand, partial verification leaves an audit deficit; as long as electronic components remain vulnerable to remote influence and full physical reconciliation is omitted, complete voter assurance cannot be achieved. Consequently, the BSP demands an immediate halt to EVMs and a total return to physical paper ballots counted publicly in front of party agents.

These technical critiques voiced by the BSP mirror wider multi-party opposition anxieties and state actions across the country.

4. Institutional Pressures, State Action, and Broader Opposition Dynamics

Mayawati’s demands align with a broader opposition consensus that views electronic voting systems as systemic vulnerabilities in Indian democratic accountability. Prominent national figures have voiced matching critiques; Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi publicly stated at a Mumbai rally that the “soul of the King is in the EVM,” arguing that the ruling administration cannot win elections without electronic machines. Similarly, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav declared in Parliament that he would maintain deep distrust in EVMs even if his party achieved a total sweep of all 80 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                        BROADER OPPOSITION AND CIVIL SOCIETY                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Rahul Gandhi (INC)  |  "Soul of the King is in the EVM" - asserts victories      |
|                      |  depend on electronic voting infrastructure.                |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Akhilesh Yadav (SP) |  Maintains complete distrust in EVMs even in the event     |
|                      |  of a total electoral sweep (e.g., 80/80 UP seats).        |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Selective Rigging   |  Allegations that key states/Lok Sabha are targeted while  |
|  Hypothesis          |  non-critical states (Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Himachal        |
|                      |  Pradesh) elect opposition parties.                        |
+----------------------+------------------------------------------------------------+
|  Civil Society       |  Solapur's Markadwadi village forced to cancel mock paper  |
|  Suppression         |  ballot audit following official police threats of force.  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

A central element of opposition analysis is the “selective manipulation hypothesis.” Opposition strategists and civil society analysts allege that EVM manipulation is applied selectively during high-stakes Lok Sabha elections and critical state contests, while non-critical states—such as Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Himachal Pradesh—are permitted to elect regional opposition parties to preserve the outward appearance of a functional multi-party democracy.

Simultaneously, political analysts observe that pervasive self-censorship inhibits sustained opposition resistance. The persistent threat of institutional action, including investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), political disqualifications, or arrest, creates an environment where leaders issue sporadic criticisms but refrain from continuous confrontation. Independent civil society verification efforts encounter similar state resistance; in 2024, residents of Markadwadi village in Solapur were forced to cancel a self-organized mock ballot-paper exercise after local authorities threatened police force.

This domestic institutional friction has drawn international governance attention. Independent reporting platforms, including the RMN Microsite operating under the RMN Democracy Monitor initiative, have highlighted the erosion of internal oversight. Citing former UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan’s core principle that compromised elections destroy democratic legitimacy, international observers stress that unverified voting systems threaten constitutional governance globally.

These institutional pressures frame the pragmatic political calculations facing opposition parties as they prepare for major state elections.

5. Strategic Realities and the Outlook for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections

Despite strong political rhetoric against electronic voting and demands for system reform, a structural divide remains between public opposition and election participation strategies. Independent political analysts note that while anti-EVM messaging serves to mobilize skeptical voters and construct post-election narratives, opposition parties face practical constraints that prevent them from boycotting elections.

To monitor these operational dynamics ahead of India’s largest state election expected in February–March 2027, the RMN Democracy Monitor launched the dedicated Uttar Pradesh Elections platform under its RMN Election Hub initiative. This digital knowledge resource integrates investigative journalism, policy analysis, administrative tracking, and election integrity monitoring across all 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                     UP 2027: ELECTORAL PREDICTABILITY CYCLE                       |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|  1. Rhetorical Challenge :  Parties demand paper ballots and allege EVM rigging.  |
|  2. Systemic Conformity  :  Opposition contests all 403 UP seats via EVMs anyway. |
|  3. Electoral Outcome    :  Analysts project advantage to ruling BJP alliance.    |
|  4. Post-Poll Reaction   :  Defeated parties blame EVMs briefly, then hibernate.  |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Electoral projections for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections indicate that despite severe critiques by Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, and central opposition figures, all major political parties will ultimately contest the election using EVMs. Analysts expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party to retain its structural advantage and secure re-election. Under this recurring political cycle, opposition formations are expected to challenge EVM integrity immediately following defeat, maintain the narrative temporarily, and subsequently enter political hibernation until the next election cycle.

Until the Election Commission implements complete visual and physical counting transparency that satisfies all competing political stakeholders, public trust in Indian electoral outcomes will remain deeply fractured.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.