After the conclusion of voting on Saturday in Jaunpur, UP, a truck loaded with EVMs was caught by locals at the campus of Purvanchal University.
Supporters of SP candidate Babu Singh Kushwaha, reached the spot after the truck had been stopped.
UTTAR PRADESH #EVM SCANDAL:#WATCH: BJP's EVM KHEL SHURU.!
📌People hold a truck full of EVM machines behind a strong room in Uttar Pradesh's #Jaunpur at Midnight.!
—HOW DID THE TRUCK DRIVER GOT THE EVM MACHINES.?
IS THIS HOW BJP GETTING 400.??#LoksabhaElections2024 pic.twitter.com/rkgpMf2Sy5
— Gururaj Anjan (@Anjan94150697) May 27, 2024
When the locals questioned the driver, allegedly a BJP supporter, and officer on the truck, they explained that these were reserve EVMs, which are replaced when damaged during voting, and that they had arrived at the Purvanchal campus by mistake.
The District Magistrate (DM), Superintendent of Police (SP), and other officials also reached the spot.
However, the locals expressed suspicion that the arrival of EVMs via a mini truck indicated a possible attempt at fraud during the vote counting by Bhartiya Janta Party and deceiving the people’s mandate.
Congress also posted on social media that the BJP had hatched a conspiracy to influence the voting in Jaunpur.
The Election Commission responded to the allegations from SP and Congress, stating that the claims made by the the parties were incorrect.
https://x.com/Trendsetting123/status/1794718248749133960
Earlier, Babu Singh Kushwaha, a senior SP leader, had alleged that a mini truck arrived from Badalpur around 10-11 pm with a Firozabad number plate.
“The truck has a Firozabad number, there is no vehicle by the number in the areas. It was parked carefully, raising suspicions. When our party workers noticed the vehicle, they followed it. When they inquired about its destination and contents they received no answers, in fact the driver fled from the spot. The officials reached the spot within no time. The District Magistrate told us they were reserve machines and had nothing to do with tampering,” he said.
Kushwaha remarked that, given the BJP’s declining support, there is widespread distrust regarding the EVMs. “Such incidents further erode trust in the machines,” he said.
In a response, the District Magistrate, Ravindra Kumar Mandhad said that the EVMs in the truck caught by locals had mistakenly reached Purvanchal University in Janpur instead of the Collector’s campus.
He further said that these were reserve machines for the ARO Headquarters. “The truck was enroute from Mungra Badshahpur to the warehouse. Due to a traffic jam, the Naib Tehsildar in charge coordinated with the local Naib Tehsildar to park the truck temporarily at the university.”