Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday accused the ruling BJP of trying to "steal" votes and claimed a truck carrying EVMs was "intercepted" in Varanasi, but the Election Commission clarified that the machines were for training officials on counting duty and were not used in elections.
Meanwhile, the ECI has ordered action against Varanasi Additional District Magistrate NK Singh over the violation of rules in transportation of training EVMs, and the official is set to be suspended, said sources.
Along with Uttar Pradesh, assembly elections are set to be held in four other states - Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The counting of votes for all five states will be held on March 10.