Gujarat Assembly election results 2017: BJP victory because of EVMs, tweets Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam

Pic Courtesy: Twitter/@sanjaynirupam (File image)

New Delhi: Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam on Monday said the BJP's victory in Gujarat was not because of the people in the state but because of EVMs.

He also termed electronic voting machines a "big threat to Indian democracy".

"When the entire Gujarat was against the BJP and empty chairs could be seen during the prime minister's poll rallies, this victory for the BJP is not by the people of Gujarat but by the EVMs. We suspected this right from the beginning. All beware, this is a big threat to Indian democracy," the president of the Mumbai unit of the Congress said in a tweet.

The former Lok Sabha MP also recalled an October 24 tweet in which he said the Congress will win 125-140 seats and the BJP only 40-47, contrary to opinion polls.

"I still stand by this tweet. This would have been the result if EVM would not have been tampered," he said on Twitter.

I still stand by this tweet. This would have been the result if #EVM would not have been tampered.#GujaratElection https://t.co/FRsvaV6sLq — Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) December 18, 2017

The elections for the 182-seat Assembly were held on December 9 and 14, after an acrimonious campaign, which was dominated by a face-off between Prime Minister Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

During the campaign, PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah had trained guns on the Congress on issues like Ram Temple, alleged Pakistani interference in the Gujarat polls and (suspended Congress leader) Mani Shankar Aiyar's remarks.

On the other hand, Rahul had persistently attacked PM Modi and the BJP for "not talking about the future of Gujarat" and skipping key issues being faced by the people of the state.

In the 2012 elections, the BJP had won 115 seats while the Congress emerged victorious in 61 seats.

The BJP has won every election since 1995 in the home state of PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah. However, it was out of power for a couple of years due to party infighting and rebellion by Shankersinh Vaghela.

The saffron party came back to power in 1998, and has ruled uninterrupted since then. 

(With Agency inputs)