EVMs Being Transported In UP Without Being Informed To Candidates: Akhilesh Yadav

Akhilesh accused the BJP of presenting "false data" to the public during its election campaigns in the state. "The people of the state are capable of differentiating between facts and fiction," he said.

New Delhi: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the BJP government of transporting EVMs in Uttar Pradesh without being informed to candidates.

"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," Akhilesh said.

He rejected the exit polls for Uttar Pradesh, which have predicted BJP's win in the state, saying "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".

"Samajwadi Party is winning Ayodhya that is why BJP is scared. Election Commission officials tampering with EVMs," said SP chief.

Meanwhile, Varanasi DM Kaushal Raj Sharma has reacted to Akhilesh's claims and said, "all candidates have been called, list of EVMs that were used on polling day were mailed to them. Hard copy being given today. These 20 EVMs (for training), are separately kept in vehicle. Numbers are being matched & shown to candidates that these are not polled EVMs".

Akhilesh also accused the BJP of presenting "false data" to the public during its election campaigns in the state. "The people of the state are capable of differentiating between facts and fiction," he said.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) president Jayant Chaudhary, who is also Akhilesh's alliance partner said exit polls are a point of view he does not agree with and claimed that it is a way of creating mental pressure.

The RLD chief, whose party contested the Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll in a tie-up with the Akhilesh Yadav-drove Samajwadi Party (SP), also wondered from where those involved in exit polls got their data from.

His comments came a day after Yadav excused the pre-poll surveys that showed that BJP had an edge over its opponents in the recently concluded Uttar Pradesh election.

"Until the EVMs are opened, no one can know the results. There is a process for exit polls. No exit poll person was seen at the polling booths, I do not know from where they got the data. This is a point of view and I do not agree with it. It is a way of creating mental pressure," Chaudhary said in a brief statement shared by his party.

Earlier in the day, Jayant also attacked the BJP over the keenly-awaited election results and the exit poll predictions.

"Exit poll ka kya karenge jab vote koko le gayi?" he asked in a tweet in Hindi, alluding to the fictional Koko bird from the folklores of western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

Chaudhary said the workers of the SP-drove coalition battled hard during the election and presently, they need to patiently cooperate during the counting of votes.

(With PTI inputs)