U.P. bypoll: SP president accuses administration of discouraging a section of voters

He further said the pace of voting should not be deliberately slowed down and all such attempts should be recorded and responded to in real time with action against erring officials

Bypoll for nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh got underway on Wednesday (November 20, 2024) amid Samajwadi Party levelling misconduct charges against police administration. Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the police were discouraging a section of voters from exercising their rights. In his two posts on X, Mr. Yadav appealed to the Supreme Court and Election Commission of India to ensure the impartial functioning of the electoral process.

He said the administration should not behave like the representative of the power during the voting process and police officials should not check or seize the ID cards of voters and block the roads leading to booths. He further said the pace of voting should not be deliberately slowed down and all such attempts should be recorded and responded to in real time with action against erring officials.

Later, he posted that assurance had come from the ECI that those stopped from voting should go to the booth again and that no wrongdoing would be allowed.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has written to the ECI to ensure that no bogus voting takes place through fake ID cards and the identity of burqa-clad women is checked.

Chief Election Officer of UP Navdeep Rinwa assured the Commission was responding to complaints and the voting percentage would not come down. 

“There is information on stone pelting in Meerapur. The district magistrate and the Superintendent of Police are on the spot.”

According to ECI, 20.40% of the electorate had exercised its franchise by 11 a.m. Kundarki and Meerapur have seen the highest voting percentage with 28.4% and 26.18% respectively, while Ghaziabad Sadar saw the lowest turnout with 12.87 % of voters casting their ballot.

Published - November 20, 2024 01:32 pm IST