E-Paper
Rate of turncoats go north
WITH A day left in zila panchayat chairman poll, last-ditch effort is being made by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party leaders to swing voters in favour of their candidates.
WITH A day left in zila panchayat chairman poll, last-ditch effort is being made by the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party leaders to swing voters in favour of their candidates.
All tricks, from money to muscle power, are being used by candidates to lure zila panchayat members (voters) to their side. Rate of turncoats have gone bullish. Few days back Rs 20 lakh was the rate to change sides, but today the graph went up and members were being offered Rs 50 lakh for their vote.
Samajwadi Party had already scored over its archrival BSP by getting over half a dozen candidates elected unopposed to the zila panchayat chairman’s post. BSP had smelt a rat and has sent its members into hiding.
None of the BSP members turned up in the meeting called by the district magistrates to train them.
District magistrates informed the State Election Commission that large number of members did not turn up for the programme and were missing.
During inquiry, SEC found that members were in hiding. The DMs were directed to train the candidates and they in turn will train the members, an official said.
Samajwadi Party candidates are taking the advantage of being in power. In Lucknow and other districts, residences of BSP candidates and members were raided on the basis of false reports. BSP leaders said the SP was planning to kidnap their members with police assistance. BSP candidate from Lucknow, Chedana Gautam had already lodged complaint with the SEC.
In Gorakhpur, BSP leaders alleged that SP district president Chandrabali Yadav had kidnapped around two dozen zila panchayat members and forcibly taken them to Lucknow to parade them before SP leaders. On the other hand, BJP MP Yogi Adityanath had made Yashoda Devi as the joint opposition candidate.
Supporters of Yogi said they would upset the applecart of SP.
Mafia and criminal gangs are having field day during the zila panchayat election. In Saharanpur and Azamgarh the candidates are taking the services of gangs to put pressure on their rivals.
Additional election commissioner Vinay Priya Dubey said 135 candidates were in field. Forty districts will witness straight fight between BSP and SP candidates.
