Voters in Chandauli claim they were inked before polling

Residents of the Tara Jivanpur village here have alleged that some people forcibly applied ink on their fingers and gave them Rs 500 each on Saturday evening. They were told not to go for polling on Sunday.

"They were from the BJP and said that they will vote on our behalf," said one of the villagers.

Members of the SP-BSP alliance sat on a dharna at the Ali Nagar police station protesting the incident.

Circle Officer In-charge Sadar Tripurari Pandey said the culprits had escaped by the time the police reached the village after receiving information. An FIR has been registered against three people in the matter.

State BJP President Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey is seeking a second term from Chandauli. He is pitted against SP-BSP alliance candidate Sanjay Chauhan Congress nominee Shiv Kanya Kushwaha from the constituency.

Harish Srivastava, the BJP spokesman in Lucknow, denied the charges and 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?"

--IANS

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