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Watch: With binoculars and jeep, UP Samajwadi Party candidate 'guards' votes
Samajwadi Party candidate Yogesh Verma had lost to the BJP's Dinesh Khatik in 2017 polls. Verma had contested polls as a Bahujan Samaj Party candidate
A Samajwadi Party candidate from Uttar Pradesh's Hastinapur constituency is now the talk of the town, thanks to his vigilante avatar against what he alleges EVM mishandling. In a video shared by news agency ANI, SP candidate Yogesh Verma is now using binoculars to keep an eye on the EVM strong room.
The Samajwadi Party candidate had last won the seat on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in 2007, then losing in 2012 polls as a Peace party candidate. Verma lost to BJP's Dinesh Khatik in the 2017 polls on the same party ticket.
Most of the exit polls released after the seventh round of polling have predicted the Bharatiya Janata Party to win the elections with a landslide majority. The Samajwadi Party, which fought an aggressive campaign under Akhilesh Yadav, is projected to finish second.
However, Akhilesh has dismissed the exit polls, asserting that he and his allies will form the government in India's most populous state.
"Many thanks to all the voters especially the youth for taking the alliance led by the SP ahead of the majority mark in the seventh and decisive phase. We are forming the government," the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief said in a tweet in Hindi.
Read: Some leaders hail exit polls; others say wait for the actual results
The elections to the 403-member Uttar Pradesh Assembly were conducted in seven phases. The counting of votes will take place on March 10.
