The Samajwadi Party on Monday alleged that the police in Uttar Pradesh’s Khatauli was sending back Muslim voters from polling booths after checking their Aadhaar cards during bye-elections in the constituency.
The party tweeted a video accusing Circle Officer Rakesh Kumar Singh of acting as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In the video, a police officer can be seen turning back at least two voters from the polling booth. The voters are holding some document, as the police officer insists that they bring their voter ID cards.
“The Election Commission should take cognisance and suspend the circle officer immediately to ensure a fair election,” Samajwadi Party wrote in its tweet.
Later in the day, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Election Commission of turning a blind eye to the outfit’s allegations, reported PTI.
“They are doing whatever directives they get from the government,” Yadav alleged.
He also claimed that the BJP was distributing liquor among voters and using other malpractices. Yadav alleged that the BJP workers were framing the Samajwadi Party by wearing the outfit’s symbolic red cap and causing a ruckus, reported the Hindustan Times.
Citing the work done by his father, the former chief minister exuded confidence that the Samajwadi Party will win the bye-polls.
Meanwhile, Dimple Yadav, the outfit’s candidate in the Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat bye-polls, also alleged in a tweet that the district magistrate has been avoiding calls made by Samajwadi Party members about alleged discrepancies in the polling.
The Mainpuri seat fell vacant after Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav died in October. Dimple Yadav, the daughter-in-law of the party patriarch, is up against BJP candidate Raghuraj Singh Shakya.
Bye-polls in the Khatauli Assembly seat got necessitated after BJP MLA Vikram Singh Saini was disqualified due to his conviction in a 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots case. His wife Rajkumari Saini is contesting the bye-polls against Madan Bhaiya of the Rashtriya Lok Dal.
Bye-polls are also being held in the Azamgarh Assembly seat after Samajwadi Party MLA Azam Khan was disqualified in a 2019 hate speech case. Asim Raja, a close aide of Khan, is contesting the polls on a Samajwadi Party ticket against BJP’s Akash Saxena, son of former MLA Shiv Bahadur Saxena.
The results of the bye-polls will be declared on December 8 along with those of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections.
Buy an annual Scroll Membership to support independent journalism and get special benefits.
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!