Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray expressed his party's decision to boycott the oath-taking ceremony, stating, "Democracy is being murdered through the use of EVMs. The results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections do not reflect the mandate of the public; they represent the mandate of the EVMs and the Election Commission of India."
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"We boycotted the oath-taking ceremony today as democracy is being murdered by the use of EVMs. This (the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections) is not the mandate of the public it is the mandate of EVM and the Election Commission of India," said Aaditya Thackeray.
On the first day of the special session of the Maharashtra Assembly on Saturday, MLAs from the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) staged a walkout in protest. The walkout was prompted by allegations of manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the recent elections. The MVA coalition, comprising Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar (NCP-SP), has raised concerns about the integrity of the EVMs following their significant electoral defeat.