In Uttar Pradesh, bombs, clashes and violence mark filing nominations for Block Pramukhs

The filing of nominations for block pramukh seats across Uttar Pradesh on Thursday witnessed widespread violence with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leaders using muscle power to prevent rival aspirants from filing their nomination in several districts while police remained mute spectators.

Samajwadi party national president Akhilesh Yadav said that police allowed BJP workers to go berserk and did not allow SP candidates to file nomination papers. "The BJP wants to win the Block Pramukh election at any cost. It knows that if fair and free elections are held, its candidates will lose, therefore the BJP is using police to prevent SP candidates from filing nomination papers," he said.

BJP claimed that in 229 blocks its candidates would be declared elected unopposed as the opposition did not file papers. “The opposition could not find candidates and in some places they did not find peoplee to second them and vet the candidates' credentials,” BJP state president Swatantra Dev Singh exulted.

Videos went viral in which two men can be seen pulling the sari of a Samajwadi Party worker as she entered a nomination centre in Lakhimpur Kheri. People with saffron bandanas also snatched the candidate’s nomination papers.

What happened in UP on the name of Panchayat elections in the recent past is machination by district administration to ensure victory for the ruling party candidates. Questions are now being raised that if BJP is so hell bent upon trampling democratic values in panchayat elections, will it allow free and fair elections during assembly polls slated in February 2022.

Sample the violence that rocked UP during the nomination of block pramukh election:

· In Siddharthnagar former UP Assembly speaker and Samajwadi Party leader, Mata Prasad Pandey was pushed and heckled in which several persons were injured in the clash.

· Bombs were lobbed and the police had to fire several rounds to stop a rebel BJP candidate from filing nomination, leading to a stampede in Kasmanda block in Kamalapur police station area of Sitapur.

· In Ambedkarnagar miscreants snatched nomination papers from former minister of Bahujan Samaj Party, Lalji Verma, leading to violent clashes. Later Verma accused BJP leader Tejaswi Jaiswal of snatching his papers, saying it led to tension and clashes.

· In Unnao, ruckus was witnessed in Nawabganj and Asoha. In Nawabganj, supporters of a BJP candidate tore the nomination form of an independent candidate. In Asoha, a SP candidate was prevented from filing nomination on which MLC Sunil Sajan and other SP officials reached the spot and protested.

· In Kannauj, stone pelting took place in Talgram block after a dispute over nomination between supporters of SP and BJP candidates after which the police caned and chased away the troublemakers.

· In Manikpur block of Chitrakoot, SP workers accused BJP workers of preventing their candidates and supporters from filing nominations. The angry SP supporters first blocked the road and later prevented people from even entering the enrollment hall.

· In neighbouring Banda district, supporters of the SP candidate were stopped by the police.
In the Madhogarh block of Jalaun, there was a clash between the BJP workers and the police after which the ruling party workers raised anti-police slogans .

· During nomination in Marhara block of Etah district a rival party worker snatched the nomination form of SP candidate Guddi Devi, who had come to file her candidature.