Photo : ANILucknow: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on Tuesday, alleged that Uttar Pradesh government is stealing Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), claiming that trucks transporting the voting machines from the counting centres were caught in Varanasi.”Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it. We need to be alert if EVMs are being transported this way. This is theft. We need to save our votes. We may go to court against it but before that, I want to appeal to people to save the democracy,” he said at a press conference.Yadav, whose party is seen as the main challenger of the ruling BJP in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that UP government officials are directing theri subordinates to slow down counting of votes where BJP is losing.Accusing the BJP of trying to ‘steal’ votes, he further said that exit polls were announced to create a perception that BJP is winning the state polls. “Exit polls want to create a perception that BJP is winning. This is the last fight for democracy. EVM is being transported without being informed to candidates,” he added. Several exit polls on Monday predicted a clear majority for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh where the saffron party and the SP seem to be locked in a direct fight . The results of the elections will be declared on March 10. More than 57 per cent voter turnout was recorded on Monday in 54 Assembly seats in the seventh and final phase of Uttar Pradesh polls, marking the end of the voting process spread over two months in the crucial state.The BJP had returned to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 when it staged a stunning comeback, after two decades of progressive decline. The party won more than 300 seats in the 403-member UP assembly.
Akhilesh Yadav alleges EVM fraud, says counting of votes being slowed down where BJP losing
