UP Man Arrested After Video Of Proxy Voting For BJP Goes Viral, Repolling Likely At Farrukhabad Poll Station

A video of a man casting multiple votes in favour of BJP at a polling both in Uttar Pradesh went viral, following which an FIR was registered in the matter. The man has now been arrested.

After the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday shared a viral video of a man casting multiple votes in the favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Uttar Prdaesh, the Chief Election Officer of the state initiated action in the matter. A first information report (FIR) was registered in connection with the matter and the person who appeared to be casting the votes was arrested by the police.

A repoll has also been recommended to the Election Commission of India at the polling station concerned.

The FIR has been registered under sections 171-F (election-related offences) and 419 (punishment for cheating by impersonating) of the Indian Penal Code. Besides this, Rajan Singh, the accused, who was seen casting the votes eight times, has been charged with sections 128, 132, and 136 of the Representation of the People Act 1951.

The RP Act 1951 pertains to maintaining voting secrecy and keeping a check on electoral fraud, and other election-related crimes.

CEO UP, Navdeep Rana has also instructed to suspend and carry out disciplinary proceedings against all members of the polling party. 

District Election Officers have been strictly instructed to rigorously follow the procedure while identifying the voters of the remaining phases in UP.

The incident took place at a polling booth in Uttar Pradesh where the accused voted for BJP candidate Mukesh Rajput. Rajput is BJP's candidate from the Farrukhabad Lok Sabha constituency.

'Looting The Democracy': Akhilesh Yadav And Rahul Gandhi Slam BJP 

Sharing the video, Akhilesh Yadav wrote on X: "If the Election Commission feels that this is wrong then it must take some action, otherwise... BJP's booth committee is actually a loot committee". Click here to watch the viral video.

Following this, Congress's Rahul Gandhi retweeted the post and wrote on X: "Seeing its defeat in front of it, BJP wants to loot democracy by pressurising the government machinery to deny the mandate."