Jana Sena and Left parties agree for electoral alliance in Andhra Pradesh

VISAKHAPATNAM: Jana Sena, CPI and CPM, which met at a beach resort here on Friday, demanded that the Election Commission of India set up an expert committee to address the concerns being raised over functioning of electronic voting machines.

In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the parties also said that paper trail verification should be made mandatory in 10% of the votes polled and counted.Speaking to mediapersons along with Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan and CPM politburo member BV Raghavalu, CPI national  general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said EVMs malfunctioned in the recent Assembly elections in Telangana where the number of votes counted were more than votes polled. He said this had altered the outcome of results in many constituencies in Telangana.

Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan said though his party was associated with the left parties for quite some time Friday’s  meeting helped consolidate their alliance.In the political resolution, the parties agreed to an electoral alliance for the upcoming general election. The CPM expressed its willingness to work with Jana Sena in both the States. However, CPI while immediately expressing their willingness to work with JSP and CPM in Andhra Pradesh, sought more time to confirm their decision regarding an understanding in Telangana.