Uttar Pradesh : SP accuses BJP of ‘booth capturing’; Demand for re-polling from the Election Commission
Voting for the Uttar Pradesh MLC elections concluded on 9 April. Subsequently, the Samajwadi Party complained to the Election Commission of India about “booth capturing” and alleged electoral malpractice by the BJP. In a letter addressed to the Election Commission on Sunday, UP SP chief Naresh Uttam Patel claimed that fake voters exercised their franchise at specific polling stations in two districts of the state. For example, he alleged that there was fake voting at the polling booth in Gaur block while booth capturing took place in Bankati block of Basti district.
SP leader Naresh Uttam Patel said, “Booth capturing was done at Haisarbazar polling station, Sant Kabir Nagar district, which recorded 100% polling, while 190 voters are presently in Mumbai. On the day of polling, these voters are not in that area. were where elections were being held. At some places, two BJP polling agents were allowed to go against the rules.” In view of this, he urged the Election Commission to conduct re-polling at the said polling stations to ensure that the elections are transparent and free.
— Samajwadi Party (@samajwadiparty) April 10, 2022
UP MLC Elections
After casting his vote for the MLC elections, UP CM Yogi Adityanath predicted that the BJP would become the first ruling party to secure a majority in the Legislative Council after 4 decades. Since 9 BJP candidates were elected unopposed, voting took place in 27 seats. It is noteworthy that the voters in this election are village headmen, members and presidents of block development councils and district panchayats, corporators of urban areas, MLAs and MPs. 37 seats in the 100-member Legislative Council are currently vacant, while the BJP, SP and BSP have 35, 17 and 4 MLCs respectively.
“In the assembly elections, BJP won 2/3 seats and managed to form the government with a huge majority under the leadership of PM Modi. I think the ruling party will be successful for the first time after 4 decades. Huge in the Legislative Council I appeal to the voters of the constituencies of the local authorities, members of panchayat samitis, village head, zilla panchayat member, president, mayor, block chief, MLA, MP to get majority, both to take forward the public welfare works. One party has the majority in the houses.” The results will be declared on 12th April.
