NEW DELHI: The Samajwadi Party has alleged that the police are affecting voting in all nine seats in Uttar Pradesh where by-polls are underway. Meanwhile, the BJP has written a letter to the Election Commission complaining about "fake voting," specifically in the Kundarki and Sisamau seats.
On its official handle on X, the Samajwadi Party claimed that the police are affecting voting at nine seats in Uttar Pradesh where by-polls are underway. "At booth numbers 357 and 422 in the Kundarki assembly constituency of Moradabad, police are harassing voters and affecting voting. The Election Commission should take cognizance, and fair voting should be ensured," the party alleged on X.
However, Moradabad District Magistrate Anuj Singh refuted the allegations by the Samajwadi Party and said that polling is going on peacefully at the seat. "The election is going on peacefully here. Some complaints were lodged by a particular party, which were confirmed by the officials, but no truth was found in them. Our voting percentage is also good," the DM said.
The Samajwadi Party also alleged "EVM malfunctioning at booth number 308 in the Phulpur assembly constituency of Prayagraj." On the other side, the Uttar Pradesh BJP wrote a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer alleging that fake ID cards are being provided to people who came from outside to cast their vote. The BJP specifically mentioned the Kundarki and Sisamau Assembly seats.
In its letter, the party said, "In the above-mentioned assembly, people coming from outside districts were lodged in the mosques and madrasas located in the assembly, and fake voting is being done by making fake identity cards of these people. These people are doing fake voting in the name of voters who are not in the district or who have died."
"Therefore, you are requested to conduct voting at all the booths in the above-mentioned assembly only after ensuring identification and by conducting a thorough search. Fake voters coming from other districts should be identified and stopped from voting, and strict action should be taken against them so that fair voting can be conducted," the BJP said in its letter to the UP CEO.
Amid allegations by the Samajwadi Party of police affecting voting in Uttar Pradesh by-polls, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak said on Wednesday that the Samajwadi Party is making false allegations only to hide their face from defeat. Speaking to ANI, Pathak said, "Samajwadi Party is making false allegations only to hide their face from defeat. We are in favour of free and fair elections."
Urging the people to vote, he said, "By-elections are underway at nine places in the state peacefully. I appeal to the people of the state to come out of their houses and cast their votes." Earlier today, a clash broke out between two parties during the Meerapur assembly by-polls in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district.
Muzaffarnagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Abhishek Singh, said that peace has been restored and voting is proceeding in a free and fair manner. The Samajwadi Party, on its official social media handle X, alleged that the police are "misbehaving" with voters in the Meerapur constituency.
"They are being stopped from casting their votes, voting is getting affected. Police are misbehaving with voters and using lathis on women at booth number 318 of the Mirapur assembly constituency in Muzaffarnagar. The Election Commission should take cognizance and ensure fair voting," the Samajwadi Party said on X.
Voting is underway at nine seats in Uttar Pradesh—Meerapur, Kundarki, Ghaziabad, Khair, Karhal, Sisamau, Phulpur, Katehari, and Majhawan. The by-elections in Uttar Pradesh are significant for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which suffered a major setback in the state, winning only 36 out of 80 seats in the last general elections.