EVM row: 4 UP poll officials removed

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon &Mukesh Ranjan

New Delhi, March 9

Hours to go for the announcement of poll results in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa tomorrow, the Election Commission tonight removed Varanasi Additional District Magistrate NK Singh and three other officials from poll duty following Samajwadi Party’s allegations of EVM theft.

Also read: UP verdict to shape Centre's policies in run-up to Lok Sabha poll

Although the EC vehemently rejected SP chief Akhilesh Yadav’s accusations of EVM tampering to suit the ruling BJP in the state, it ordered action against NK Singh for transporting training-purpose EVMs in violation of protocol. Three other officers were stripped of poll duties amid the ongoing EVM row and were replaced on EC's orders. These included the nodal officer handling EVMs in Varanasi, a returning officer in Sonbhadra and an additional poll officer in Bareilly. As per rules, NK Singh should have brought out the EVMs in a sealed vehicle and informed the contesting parties and local election authorities. He took out the EVMs ahead of scheduled time without intimating his superiors, sources said. As PM Modi’s Lok Sabha segment Varanasi heated up on result day eve, the EC deputed Bihar CEO HR Srinivasa as special observer to oversee the counting process. The exit polls have predicted a huge BJP win in India’s largest state with the Opposition camp on tenterhooks.

The ruling BJP is defending its governments in UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa. The Congress would be fighting for electoral revival and AAP for expansion of political base beyond Delhi. The BJP holds 440 of the 690 segments and defending this score would be key to BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha prospects.

In Goa, the Congress shifted its candidates to a luxury resort saying they went voluntarily to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. Opinion polls have foreseen a hung house in Goa, triggering hectic parleys. The BJP spent a second day wooing MGP with Goa in-charge Devendra Fadnavis calling the outfit a “natural saffron ally”. The results would be make or break for the Congress, in power on its own only in Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

For AAP, the D-Day would be all about potentially expanding beyond Delhi, with all exit polls calling it a clear winner in Punjab, a major border state.

Cong shifts its Goa nominees to resort

With exit polls predicting a hung House in Goa, an edgy Congress has shifted its candidates to a luxury resort

Political D-Day

• BJP defends 440 of the 690 seats at stake in 5 states
• Defending 114 seats, Cong fighting for electoral revival
• AAP, TMC, JD(U) look to expand

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