The results of exit polls have not doused the enthusiasm of the Samajwadi Party workers as they continue to keep round-the-clock vigil at the strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVM) are stored, even as workers of the BJP are taking it easy. Exit polls have predicted 62-72 seats for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and 6 to 17 seats for the INDIA bloc.
SP spokesperson Abdul Hafiz Gandhi echoed the views of party president Akhilesh Yadav that the exit poll is based on the District Magistrate and not the EVM. Mr. Gandhi, who has been spending hours in the heat at the Kasganj strongroom of Etah Lok Sabha for almost a month, said that the “exit polls are not exact polls” and added that the party workers’ motivation to protect the EVMs from foul play has only doubled. The administration has issued two passes each per Assembly segment.
“As Etah has five Assembly segments, we are ten people working in three shifts. There is a cooler to beat the heat and ludo to kill time. With no BJP and BSP workers around, we only have officials and policemen to discuss the trends and possible outcomes,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said the administration had provided them with the form 17C for all the booths and this was being shared with the counting agents. “We are sharing a docket that contains all the relevant information with counting agents and are training them to spot any attempt to sabotage the process on the day of counting,” he said.
The strong rooms covered by the CCTV cameras are under the protection of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The party workers form the second layer. The outer layer of security is provided by the Uttar Pradesh Police. “There are three LED monitors outside on which the party workers keep an eagle eye. The administration has also provided a generator to keep the CCTV feed going in case of a power cut. Every vehicle that enters the premises is checked by the SP workers and every official has to sign a register before he enters the premises,” he said.
Some lapses
In Budaun, Shafi Ahmad, vice president of Sewa Dal Youth Brigade of Uttar Pradesh, said the Congress workers are working with the SP to safeguard the EVMs. Budaun, where SP leader Shivpal Yadav’s son Aditya Yadav is in the fray, is one of those seats that the alliance expects to win by a margin of more than 50,000 votes, he said.
He complained that on May 31, a major fault led to a power cut in five districts. The administration, he claimed, took three hours to restore the CCTV feed because the generator was not immediately available. “We have informed the party high command,” he said.
Mr. Ahmed said the exit polls seemed sponsored and were meant to create an impression on the administration and kill the Opposition’s morale.
It appears the Opposition is guarding EVMs at some seats more rigorously than others. In Ghaziabad, one found only one agent of an independent candidate keeping watch. He said the Congress workers visit once or twice a day but otherwise, it was just him.
‘Faith in the system’
Interestingly, the BJP workers do not seem too keen on the security of the EVMs. Sanjay Narula, who is in charge of BJP’s election office in Rampur, said members visit the strong room occasionally but are not burning the midnight oil to safeguard the EVMs. “The SP workers are going overboard. We have faith in the administration,” he said.
A senior BJP functionary in the Rampur office said the party is set to form the next government but it seems those who had conducted exit polls have gone overboard. “We could see three neck-to-neck fights around us in Rampur, Moradabad and Sambhal. It seems the pollsters have given all the close contests to the BJP.”
