As Punjab, Uttar Pradesh Vote, Opposition Flags EVM Problemes
Today, voters in Uttar Pradesh’s third phase of election will cast ballots in 59 constituencies distributed over 16 districts. Punjab, which is governed by the Congress party, is also voting. By 11 a.m., UP had 21.18 percent voter turnout while Punjab had 17.77 percent.
The Samajwadi Party claimed anomalies in an Electronic Voting Machine in Kanpur Rural shortly after election began in Uttar Pradesh. Even after a voter touched the button adjacent to the Samajwadi Party, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) gave a BJP slip, according to the party. They requested that the Election Commission take note of their request.
The seats up for election today are in Uttar Pradesh’s west, central, and southern regions. The BJP took 49 of the 59 seats in 2017, while the Samajwadi Party took nine. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samajwadi Party won no seats, while the Congress won one.
All eyes are on the Karhal seat in the Yadav family stronghold of Mainpuri, where Samajwadi Party head Akhilesh Yadav is running for the first time. Union Minister SP Singh Baghel has been nominated by the BJP to run against him. Since the party’s establishment in 1992, the SP has only lost this seat once.
The SP chief’s uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav (Jaswantnagar), BJP’s Satish Mahana (Maharajpur in Kanpur), Ramveer Upadhayay (Sadabad in Hathras), Asim Arun (Kannauj Sadar), and Congress’ Louise Khurshid are among the other noteworthy contenders (Farrukhabad Sadar). Salman Khurshid’s wife, Louise, is a senior Congressman and former Union Minister.
Nearly half of the 403 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh would have voted by the end of phase three. After this phase, voting will be completed in 172 seats.
Punjab, a border state that has recently seen high-voltage political drama, will elect 117 members to the state parliament in a single phase. During the final weeks of campaigning in the state, there was a frantic shift in the agenda, with a focus on religious identity and separatist.
The BJP will contest election 2022 without its long-time ally Akali Dal in a multi-cornered contest as the Congress strives to cling on to Punjab. Captain Amarinder Singh, who was deposed as Chief Minister in an unceremonious manner last year, has formed his own political organisation, the Punjab Lok Congress, and has allied with the BJP.