55.24% turnout as 11 UP MLC seats go to polls amid scuffles, allegations of rigging

Voting for 11 MLC seats in Uttar Pradesh, including six teachers’ and five graduate constituencies, was conducted on Friday amid allegations of malpractices by Opposition party candidates.

A turnout of 55.24 percent was recorded in the polling conducted from 8 am to 4 pm, officials said.

While the Samajwadi Party candidates and party chief alleged misuse of government machinery and malpractice to favour the ruling party candidates, the BJP leaders too accused the SP of fielding ineligible candidates and misuse of voting procedures.

According to the Election Commission, the highest voting percentage of 79.01 percent was recorded for the Gorakhpur-Faizabad Graduate constituency while the lowest 38.02 percent voting was for the Lucknow Teachers’ constituency.

The SP candidates from the Agra-Graduates and Teachers’ constituencies, Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituency, Allahabad-Jhansi Teachers’ seat and the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’ constituency alleged booth capturing, influencing of voters. They alleged that the SP candidates and workers were intimidated, harassed and heckled at polling booths by BJP goons and administration.

The SP leaders alleged that only those carrying the BJP colour slips were allowed to vote and the ruling party voters were allowed to cast their votes without even checking their identity cards.

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SP president Akhilesh Yadav, who cast his vote at his native village Saifai in the Legislative Council’s Agra Graduates’ constituency, spoke to the media alleging that BJP workers indulged in fake voting and malpractices. To stop SP supporters going to cast their votes, the BJP had hired goons and corrupt officials with administration officials remaining mute spectators to it , he alleged. The BJP will try to resort to such practices in the coming Assembly elections as well, but people will defeat it by casting each and every vote against it, he claimed.

“It appears that the Election Commission officials have gone to sleep after taking sleeping pills. The EC continued to sit with its eyes closed over all these malpractices. The BJP should open a university for vote theft and run a course of at least three years in it for its workers,” the former chief minister said.

“The BJP has done no work for teachers and young people. If their government has been in power for 10 years, why does the BJP need to resort to hooliganism and fake voting in the election?” he asked.

“Only 40 days are now left for the Assembly elections. The Samajwadi Party is ready. The SP and the INDIA alliance will defeat the BJP,” he said.

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According to PTI, supporters of candidates allegedly affiliated with the BJP and SP clashed outside a polling centre in Fatehpur district during the polling.

The incident took place at around 10 am at Vijayipur block, where a heated argument between the two groups over claims of forced voting escalated into a scuffle.

A video of the incident surfaced on social media, but the allegation of forced voting could not be independently verified.

Fatehpur Superintendent of Police Abhimanyu Manglik told PTI that police intervened and brought the situation under control. He described the incident as a minor scuffle and denied that polling was disrupted.