Uttar Pradesh: Cast fake votes if people are absent on polling day, says BJP's Budaun candidate

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate from Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday asked people to cast proxy votes for those who may not be able to cast their ballot.

Sanghmitra Maurya, the daughter of Swami Prasad Maurya, a minister in Chief Minister Adityanath’s government, said not a single vote should go in vain,

The Times of India reported. “Not a single vote should go in vain and if some are absent, then it is common everywhere that fake voter slips are used,” she told supporters. “If there is a chance, take advantage of this...don’t do it, but if there is a chance, do it.”

“Try to ensure that you take the real voters to cast their ballot...but if they are not present, you can do this [cast proxy votes] to some extent, secretively,” she added, to laughter and applause.

District Magistrate Dinesh Kumar Singh told PTI when contacted that he was unaware of Sanghamitra Maurya’s remarks but would look into the matter.

Last month, Sanghamitra Maurya had claimed that she would become a thug if anyone tried to bully the people of Budaun.

The Budaun Lok Sabha constituency will vote in the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 23. Sanghmitra Maurya is contesting against the Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav.