Kannauj: SP alleges VVPAT shows 'lotus' when 'cycle' button pressed; wants DGP removed

Opposition Samajwadi Party Monday urged the Election Commission to remove Uttar Pardesh's police chief OP Singh from the post alleging he was "favouring" the ruling BJP and affecting elections.

The party also alleged that in at at least two polling booths the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machine showed the voting for the BJP when the ballot was cast for the SP.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's wife Dimpal is contesting from the constituency.

Party leader Dharmendra Yadav said the Director General of Police was "misusing" government machinery to help the BJP.

"We demanded from the EC to remove him immediately," Yadav told reporters here.

He was part of a SP delegation that met Chief Electoral Officer L Venkatenshwar Lu and submitted a memorandum demanding immediate removal of the DGP. It highlighted the issue of "faulty" EVMs.

"The police are terrorising minority voters. The force is being misused in favour of the BJP. We have apprised the CEO about it," SP spokesman Rajendra Chowdhury said.

The memorandum highlighted specific details about booths in Kannauj where EVMs are allegedly malfunctioning.

In booth number 482 and 483, the party claimed, that VVPAT showed lotus (BJP poll symbol) slip, after pressing cycle (SP poll symbol) button.

Chowdhury alleged that a police inspector in Kannauj was working as a "BJP agent".

The SP delegation requested the CEO to look into the matter to ensure free and fair polls.

"We have received memorandum of the SP. We will look into it," a senior EC official said.