UP Villagers Allegedly Inked & Bribed to Stop Them Voting

Villagers allege that it was BJP workers who inked them and paid them Rs 500 not to vote. BJP denies the charge.

Voters in a village in the Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh have alleged that the fingers of Dalits had been inked before they could actually cast their votes, reported PTI.

The incident took place in Tara Jivanpur village under Alinagar police station. When asked to comment on the report, the additional chief electoral officer, BDR Tiwari, said, "We have taken cognisance of the entire incident and an FIR has been registered. Prima facie, names of workers of a political party have come to the fore. The administration has assured the people that they do not need to fear."

The ANI also reported that the residents of the village, along with SP and BSP workers, staged a protest outside the Alinagar police station claiming that BJP was offering bribes to voters to skip voting.

"They asked us if we'll vote for the party. They told us, ‘now you can't vote. Don't tell anyone,’" a resident told ANI.

The residents alleged that a bribe of Rs 500 was offered to the voters by three men in their village on Saturday.

“I can assure that all people who are eligible to vote in the constituency will be able to cast their vote, action will be taken against those who are found guilty," Sub Divisional Magistrate Kumar Harsh told reporters.

However, BJP has denied these charges. Harish Srivastava, the BJP spokesperson in Lucknow, said, "This is a ploy of our rivals to defame us. Why would the BJP do such things when we are already winning the seat by a huge margin?"

BJP candidate Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey is up against Sanjay Singh Chauhan, the candidate for SP-BSP Mahagathbandhan in the Chandauli constituency for Phase 7 of the Lok Sabha elections.