Agra: Samajwadi Party candidate Akash Agrawal won the Agra Teachers’ Constituency seat in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council elections, alleging booth capturing, intimidation of teachers and violence during the vote-counting process.
After his victory, Agrawal alleged that teachers supporting him were harassed and threatened during the counting process. He also criticised the state government, saying the incidents he witnessed had changed his perception of its image.
Speaking to the media, Agrawal said, “Our teacher colleagues were harassed; booth capturing also took place. It was very painful. The teachers' MLC election has changed. I believe that teachers will never contest again. The Uttar Pradesh government had an image that it was against terrorists and corruption, but when I saw that my colleagues were being intimidated and threatened and I witnessed booth capturing, that image shattered. Our national president works for the welfare of all sections of society.”
Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha Agra president Amit Pratap Yadav also alleged that an assault took place during the counting process involving Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Hari Kishore Tiwari and his supporters.
Speaking to ANI, Yadav alleged, “It was around 2.30 AM. I was the polling agent for Akash Agrawal at Table No. 14. As the second round of counting was about to begin, our candidate had secured a lead of over 2,000 votes; we were clearly pulling ahead. Suddenly, the BJP candidate stood up and lunged at our candidate. My station, Table No. 14, was located right next to the area where the Returning Officer (RO) and the candidates sit. When I saw him lunge, I immediately intervened.”
He further claimed that around 15 to 25 people without official polling agent credentials were present at the spot and alleged that they had been brought in by the police.
“There were about 15 to 25 individuals present who did not have official agent credentials; they had been brought in by the police. When the BJP candidate attacked, we all rushed to intervene. It turned into a chaotic scuffle, a physical altercation. Where is the Election Commission? Where is the administration? What kind of arrangements are these?” he further added.
The elections for 11 seats (5 Graduates' and 6 Teachers' constituencies) in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, widely viewed as a political "semi-final" ahead of the State Assembly elections, saw a competitive split between the ruling BJP and the Samajwadi Party.
Out of the 11 seats, the BJP won 6 seats (5 declared, leading in 1), while the Samajwadi Party secured 5 seats (3 declared, leading in 2).
In the Meerut Graduate constituency, Dinesh Kumar Goyal of the BJP has been declared elected. In the teachers' constituencies, Umesh Dwivedi (BJP) has won from Lucknow, Lal Bihari Yadav (Samajwadi Party) from Varanasi, Akash Agarwal (Samajwadi Party) from Agra, Chand Sharma (BJP) from Meerut, and Hari Singh Dhillon (BJP) from Bareilly-Moradabad.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.