Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party Supremo called in a press conference on Tuesday and accused the ruling BJP of tampering and stealing EVMs. This came after almost all channels predicted in their exit polls of The Bhartiya Janata Party sweeping the Assembly Elections.
In the press conference, Yadav alleged that District Magistrates have been called on by Yogi Adityanath to ‘delay counting of votes and stretch it till midnight’ in constituencies where saffron is losing.
“Today, in Varanasi, where the EVMs were being taken, one truck (with the machines) was caught, while two other trucks fled. If the government is not indulging in stealing votes, then it should at least say why the administration has not made security arrangements (for the EVMs),” he said.
He asked if the government can give any justification to this.
“In Bareilly, three sealed boxes (with EVMs) were found in a vehicle of the municipal corporation carrying garbage (registration number UP25DT9166). Plain ballot papers and things used for sealing (EVMs) were also found. A similar incident was also reported from Sonbhadra. What justification will the government give,” he added.
However, the Election Commission denied the allegations leveled by Akhilesh and clarified that the EVMs were not used in Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2022, and were meant for training officials on counting duty.