Lucknow, : Amid malfunctioning of EVMs and VVPAT machines being reported during the fifth phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati exercised their franchise.
The district authorities in Lucknow, Rae Bareli, Amethi and other places had a hard time to replace the faulty EVMs and VVPAT in the early hours leading to delay in the polling.
In Lucknow alone more than two dozen EVMs and VVPAT were replaced due to which the polling was disrupted for about an hour. At the Nagar Nigam polling centre in the state capital, EVMs in three booths malfunctioned out of the 5 booths.
Long queues were witnessed at several booths in the state capital though several voters returned without voting after delay in starting the polls due to faulty EVMs.
Several people were witnessed helping their old age parents in casting their votes by taking them to the booths on wheel chairs.
However several people complained about their missing name from the voter list even after they had voter card. ADG jail Chandra Prakash in Lucknow had complained that names of his family members were missing from the voters list.
Mr Rajnath Singh was accompanied with his MLA son Pankaj Singh and other family members at a booth in Gomti Nagar locality in the morning.
Rajnath on the occasion also appealed to the people of Lucknow, from where he is the BJP candidate, to come out of their house and exercise their franchise in large number.
BSP president Mayawati exercised her franchise at Lucknow Montessori School in the state capital before leaving for a poll campaign. She too appealed the people to participate in the festival of democracy .
(UNI)
