Samajwadi Party (SP) workers have claimed to have intercepted a mini truck loaded with EVMs near a strong room in UP’s Jaunpur. They have accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being involved in transporting the EVMs from the strongroom.
When video clips showing EVMs loaded in a mini truck surfaced on the internet, Jaunpur district magistrate (DM) claimed that the EVMs were on reserve and were mistakenly taken outside the strong room. SP workers alleged that the official failed to provide any documentary proof to support this claim.
The incident occurred shortly after the sixth phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh took place on Saturday, May 25. The SP workers reportedly noticed a mini truck containing the EVMs and immediately raised an alarm. They stopped the vehicle and created a ruckus, demanding an explanation from the authorities.
Amid the chaos, the DM rushed to the spot and tried to convince the SP workers that the EVMs were not the ones used in the election and were simply being transported to another location. However, the SP workers were not convinced and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to tamper with the EVMs.
Pertinent to mention that Jaunpur reported 55.52 percent of polling in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.
While addressing the media, SP candidate from Jaunpur Babu Singh Kushwaha said that the public caught a vehicle transporting the EVMs outside the strong room. He claimed when the public confronted the policemen present there, the driver of the vehicle fled. He further said that the DM had failed to provide any documentary proof to support the claim that the EVMs were on reserve and were mistakenly taken outside the strong room.
While clarifying on the incident, DM Jaunpur took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Yesterday on 25-05-24, Tehsildar Machhlishahr was returning from Purvanchal University road with a vehicle to deposit the unused EVM machines reserved for Mungarabadshahpur Assembly constituency in the EVM warehouse located in the Collectorate from ARO office Mungarabadshahpur through a mini truck. Due to heavy traffic jams, he took the vehicle to the university campus to get the police security force, which was objected to by the SP candidate and his supporters. In the sequence of which, he was provided with the list of reserve EVM machines and it was matched with the list of reserve EVMs given to him earlier, on which he was satisfied. Thereafter, the truck of reserve EVMs was sent to the Collectorate and the EVM machines were deposited in the EVM warehouse. Talking to the media regarding the above, giving a “media byte”, he was given full information about the case. The entire process was completed in the presence of the SP candidate.”
In another post, the official claimed that the matter was investigated in the presence of SP candidate Babu Singh Kushwaha and he is now satisfied with the investigation.
“In the above case, the investigation was done by the representative of Samajwadi Party candidate Shri Babu Singh Kushwaha in his presence. The EVM was matched with the list available to him and was found to be correct. It is also mentioned in the video that he is satisfied with the investigation,” he wrote.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident.
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