LUCKNOW: As voting for the by-elections to nine assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh progresses, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded a detailed screening of burqa voters. The party has also written a letter to the State Election Commission in this regard.
In the letter, the BJP pointed out that there have been instances in the past when burqa women wearing burqa have tried to vote more than once. "Some men have tried to vote by wearing burqa. On several occasions, they have been stopped by polling officials. Fake voting will take place if the documents of those wearing burqa are not verified. Only proper testing will ensure transparent voting," the BJP said in the letter. The party has also demanded that more women police personnel be deployed to check those wearing burqas.

However, the opposition Samajwadi Party has alleged that the BJP's move is to slow down the pace of polling. They also demanded that the district administration should ensure that the pace of polling does not slow down and voters do not move away from the polling booth. Releasing visuals of police officers unnecessarily checking the identity documents of voters, the party demanded the intervention of the Election Commission in the matter. It is also reported that there are scenes in which voters are threatened at gunpoint. Soon after this, two police officers were suspended. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said those who returned without voting after being stopped by the police should come back and vote. He also demanded that polling officials or representatives of political parties should be told if anyone stops them.

Bye-elections are being held today in nine assembly seats— Katehari, Karhal, Meerapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki. These seats fell vacant after sitting MLAs, including Akhilesh Yadav, were elected to the Lok Sabha.