Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not enjoy the support of people and it wins elections by rigging the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Addressing a poll rally here to campaign for Murlidhar Patil, a Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) candidate from Khanapur, Raut also accused the BJP of being a "Maharashtra hater" and said whenever the Marathi manoos gets stronger, it hatches a conspiracy - be it against Maharashtra or Marathi-speaking border areas of Karnataka.
He also asked people not to entertain the BJP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde when the leaders from these parties from Maharashtra come for campaigning.
While the Congress is the principal opposition party seeking to dislodge the BJP government in Karnataka, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has fielded candidates for the Assembly polls in the state.
"Guard the EVMs. BJP wins with the help of EVMs. You vote for the stool (MES candidate's symbol) in the morning and in the evening it gets changed to something else. This has to be taken care of. They (the BJP) don't have people's support and win by indulging in scams. This is the picture everywhere in the country," he said.
He said be it Uddhav Thackeray or NCP president Sharad Pawar, they always had affection towards the Ekikaran Samiti and the Marathi manoos in Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka.
The MES is a body fighting for the rights of the Marathi-speaking areas in Belagavi-Karwar areas of Karnataka, where Assembly elections will be held on May 10.
