Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the ruling BJP of trying to "steal" votes and claimed a truck carrying EVMs was "intercepted" in Varanasi, but the Election Commission clarified that the machines were for training officials on counting duty and were not used in elections.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday night, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer of UP said that a "'rumour was spread by people of some political party by stopping the vehicle and alleging that these EVMs were used in elections".
"According to the report sent by the District Election Officer (of Varanasi), it was found during the investigation that these EVMs were marked for training.
"To train the officials involved in counting duty, training has been organised for March 9 (Wednesday)," it said.
A delegation comprising senior SP leaders Naresh Uttam and Rajendra Chaudhary, Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar and Janwadi Party's (Socialist) Sanjay Chauhan submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission alleging the "stealing of EVMs in Varanasi".
Along with Uttar Pradesh, assembly elections are set to be held in four other states - Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The counting of votes for all five states will be held on March 10.
