LUCKNOW: Rashtriya Lok Dal and
Samajwadi Party (SP) which have jointly fielded a candidate in the May 28 Kairana
Lok Sabha bypoll, a keenly watched seat after BJP's debacle in Gorakhpur and
Phulpur, have alleged that more than 200 EVMs malfunctioned in the first three hours of polling.
Polling began at 8am on Monday.
In a complaint sent to the
Election Commission, Tabassum Hasan, the joint candidate of RLD-SP, wrote,"A request is being made that most booths have developed snag in EVMs and VVPATS in the ongoing polls in
Kairana and Noorpur. Despite attempts to raise a concern, no
EC official is hearing us. We are sharing a break-up of the booths where EVMS have malfunctioned..."
The booths include Shamli, Kairana city Gangoh, Nakku and Thanabhawan.
In Kairana, Hasan is pitted against BJP's Mriganka Singh, daughter of former Lok Sabha MP Hukum Singh, whose death necessitated the by-poll there.
SP candidate Naimul-Hasan is taking on BJP’s Avani Singh in Noorpur vidhan sabha seat.
Of nearly 16 lakh voters in Kairana, 5.5 lakh are Muslims, 2.5 lakh are Dalits (mostly Jatavs), 1.5 lakh are Jats, 2 lakh are Kashyaps, 1.4 lakh are Gujjars, 1.2 lakh are Saini . The rest are Brahmins, Banias and Rajputs.