Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Gujarat’s Fatehpura Ramesh Katara on Tuesday, 16 April, campaigning for party candidate in Dahod, claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “installed cameras” and the people “should look for the lotus symbol” and press it.
“You’ll see the photo of Jaswant Sinh Bhabhor (BJP candidate from Dahod) and lotus symbol on the EVM. Look for that and press the button. There should not be any room for error as Modi sa’ab has installed cameras this time,” said Katara.
He also alleged that one can ascertain which party each citizen has cast their vote for.
“Who voted for BJP and who for Congress, it can be seen. Aadhaar Card and all cards have your photo now. If there are less votes from your booth then he will come to know who did not cast vote, so then you will not get work,” he said.
Dahod will go to polls in the third phase on 23 April.
Just days earlier, Union Minister and senior BJP leader Maneka Gandhi said she will categorise different villages in her constituency as per votes registered for BJP, and will then prioritise development accordingly, ANI reported on Monday, 15 April.
Addressing a public meeting in Pilibhit, where her son Varun Gandhi is contesting from, Maneka Gandhi said she will categorise all villages as A, B, C, D.
“The village where we get 80 percent votes is A, the village in which we get 60 percent is B, the village where we get 50 percent will be C… The development work first happens in all Category A villages. After A is done, the comes B. So this is up to you whether you make it to A, B or C and no one should come in D because we all have come here to do good,” she said, reported ANI.
However, later on 15 April, Gandhi was barred from campaigning for violating the Model Code of Conduct during her election campaign held in Sultanpur, where she made a communal remark.
Gandhi, while campaigning in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur on 11 April, was recorded on camera ‘pressurising’ members of the Muslim community to vote for her or else she “may not work towards fulfilling their needs" when she wins.
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