Lok Sabha elections 2019: In heartland, BJP aims to retain hold in Bulandshahr

Polling was held for eight out of UP’s 80 Lok Sabha seats in the second phase of polling amid allegations of fake voting in Amroha and the house arrest of BJP’s candidate from Bulandshahr for campaigning inside a polling station.

Polling was held for eight out of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats in the second phase of polling amid allegations of fake voting in Amroha and the house arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s candidate from Bulandshahr for campaigning inside a polling station.

Supporters of Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) wave party flags and cut-outs of the lotus. (AFP file photo)

Bhola Singh, the BJP candidate, was placed under house arrest after a purported video showing him campaigning inside a polling station went viral on social media.

Singh claimed he entered the booth with district magistrate Abhay Singh’s permission when a policeman tried to stop him. Abhay Singh said he permitted Bhola Singh to visit the booths but not to seek votes. “A notice has been issued to Bhola Singh and he will be kept under house arrest till the polling gets over,” he added.

Close to 62.06% voted Uttar Pradesh’s seats: Nagina, Bulandshahr, Hathras, Agra, Amroha, Aligarh, Fatehpur Sikri and Mathura. The BJP won all these seats in 2014. It is now up against a combined strength of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD). As many as 85 candidates were in the fray for the second phase of polling.

In Amroha, the BJP and BSP candidates accused each other of using burqa-clad women for bogus voting.

Officials said some technical glitches in Electronic Voting Machines were rectified even as many voters complained their names were missing from voter lists. In Nagina’s Gujjupura village, officials persuaded villagers to vote as they were threatening to boycott voting in protest against the absence of a polling booth in their village.