Voters queue up in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh (PTI)
High-profile exits from the ruling BJP, including OBC leaders Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chouhan, who joined the SP in the Uttar Pradesh elections, accused the Yogi Adityanath government of doing injustice to these communities.
SP has joined hands with RLD, Om Prakash Rajbhar’s Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and the Apna Dal (K), a rival of the NDA ally Apna Dal (S).
On Tuesday, Akhilesh Yadav accused the ruling BJP of “stealing” votes and claimed that his party workers stopped a truck carrying EVMs in Varanasi. He also claimed that vehicles carrying ballot papers were stopped in at least three districts. However, the Election Commission has said that EVMs were being brought to Varanasi for training of polling officers as scheduled on Wednesday, and insisted that “the EVMs used in polling are sealed and protected and 24×7″. Being seen through surveillance”.
On the eve of counting of votes, the Election Commission removed the nodal officer for EVMs in Varanasi, a returning officer (RO) in Sonbhadra district and an additional election officer in Bareilly district from election duty.