UP polls: Akhilesh Yadav claims EVM fraud, says exit polls 'trying to create perception of BJP win'

Ahead of Assembly election results on 10 March,  Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Uttar Pradesh government of 'stealing' electronic voting machines and and said exit polls were trying to create the perception that the BJP was winning the state.

On Monday, exit polls predicted a BJP victory in the all-important state of Uttar Pradesh. Votes are slated to be counted for the Assembly polls on 10 March. At a stormy press conference, a defiant Akhilesh alleged that government officials in Lucknow are directing their subordinates in the districts to slow down the counting of votes and prolong the process till late night where the chances of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) winning the electoral contest are slim.

Akhilesh alleged that the instructions are particularly with regard to 47 seats which the BJP had won in the last state Assembly polls with a margin of less than 5,000 votes. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also alleged that a truck with voting machines was caught in Varanasi. Urging people to come forward and "save the Constitution", Yadav alleged that a top UP bureaucrat was telling DMs to slow down counting in seats where BJP appeared to be losing. He further claimed that EVMs were being taken out of counting centres.

Yadav said, "Exit polls want to create a perception that BJP is winning. This is the last fight for democracy. EVM is being transported without being informed to candidates." "Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it," Yadav added.

Asking how EVMs could be moved like that, Yadav said, "We need to be alert if EVMs are being transported this way. This is theft. We need to save our votes. We may go to court against it but before that, I want to appeal to people to save democracy." Akhilesh also later tweeted that SP was sending a delegation to EC to officially lodge a complaint. He wrote:

Urging the youth and voters to fortify the counting centre for the next 3 days to protect the votes, Yadav wrote in a tweet in Hindi that the voters must the slogans of freedom with drums and chants.  He tweeted:

Reacting to Akhilesh Yadav's allegations, Union minister Anurag Thakur said Yadav had understood that the people were not serious about the SP. He added that Yadav didn't even wait for results on 10 March and started blaming EVMs for his loss.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary on Tuesday said exit polls are a point of view he does not agree with and claimed that it is a way of creating mental pressure.

The RLD chief, whose party contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly election in a tie-up with the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP), also wondered from where those involved in exit polls got their data.

"Until the EVMs are opened, no one can know the results. There is a process for exit polls. No exit poll person was seen at the polling booths, I do not know from where they got the data. This is a point of view and I do not agree with it. It is a way of creating mental pressure," Chaudhary said in a brief statement shared by his party.

With inputs from PTI

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