Ahead of the counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that Election Commission officials are tampering with EVMs.
"Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
"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 the democracy."
According to media reports, after videos of EVMs in a truck went viral, district magistrate of Varanasi clarified that there were not the ones used for voting, but for "hands-on training."
Countering this claim, the SP chief said, "In Varanasi, we intercepted one truck and two trucks fled. If there was no suspicious activity, how did two trucks with EVMs escape? You cannot move any EVMs from anywhere without the consent of candidates," reports NDTV.
He also 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 BJP winning the electoral contest are slim. The SP claimed 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.
Taking to Twitter, AKhilesh said the news reports of EVMs being caught in Varanasi suggests that there is a need for every assembly constituency to be alert. "All the candidates and supporters of SP-alliance should be ready with their cameras to thwart the attempt of rigging in the counting of votes," he said.
He claimed that Samajwadi Party is winning Ayodhya and that is why BJP is scared. "Exit polls want to create a perception that BJP is winning. This is the last fight for democracy."
—With PTI inputs
