Congress’ Sapkal Alleges 17 EVM Seals Broken, Re-Poll Held in Salekasa Nagar Panchayat

MP, Dec 05 : Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Harshvardhan Sapkal on Thursday levelled serious allegations against the ruling dispensation, claiming that the recently held municipal elections were marred by bogus voting, intimidation, and widespread rule violations.

Sapkal said a shocking incident from the Salekasa Nagar Panchayat in Gondia district has raised deep concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. After polling had concluded, the seals of 17 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were allegedly found broken, and re-voting was conducted, he claimed. Despite the gravity of the incident, no FIR has been registered yet, Sapkal noted.

Calling these developments a “stripping of democracy”, the Congress state chief criticised the conduct of the ruling party, the administration, and the Election Commission. Addressing the media at Tilak Bhavan, he said elections to local self governing bodies are being held after 10 years following Supreme Court directives, yet the process has been “reduced to a mockery.”

He asserted that the Congress has repeatedly raised concerns over vote theft, faulty voter lists, and the need for electoral reforms, but “no improvement is visible.” He demanded that the Election Commission must finally open its eyes. The party has also planned a nationwide rally in Delhi on December 14 to protest against alleged vote manipulation.

Switching to agrarian issues, Sapkal accused the Maharashtra government of betraying farmers devastated by heavy rains from May to October. He claimed that crops and farmlands were destroyed, but despite announcing a ₹33,000 crore relief package, the state government failed to send any compensation proposal to the Centre.

Citing remarks made by Union Agriculture Minister Shivrajsinh Chouhan in the Lok Sabha, Sapkal said the minister himself confirmed that no proposal was received from Maharashtra, exposing the “lies” of the BJP-led Mahayuti government and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “No funds came from the Centre because the state never intended to help farmers,” Sapkal alleged.