Uttarakhand Polls: Pushkar Singh Dhami has also been accused by AAP of distributing money among voters.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and his wife have been accused of violating the election code on voting day by visiting poll booths wearing BJP scarves.
In photos shared on social media, including on the Twitter handles of Mr Dhami and the BJP's Uttarakhand unit, the Chief Minister is seen wearing the BJP's symbol and colours at poll booths in his constituency Khatima.
The Election Commission of India's manual on model code of conduct states that posters, flags, symbols or any other propaganda material shall not be displayed near polling booths.
Mr Dhami's wife Geeta was seen campaigning in a polling booth wearing the BJP scarf even after she had voted early in the morning. Several other BJP workers were also seen wearing these scarves. Security personnel or polling authorities were not seen taking any action.
Questioned by NDTV, Mrs Dhami replied, "This is not campaigning. We go booth to booth in every election to see how much voting has happened. Who told you this is campaigning?"
On being told that party symbols are not allowed near booths on voting day, she said, "Everyone is wearing. There is nothing like this. This doesn't affect anything. People have already made up their minds. The party is winning."
The allegations of poll code violation against Mr Dhami come just after the Aam Aadmi Party's Uttarakhand unit accused him of distributing money among voters.
Sharing a video that has now gone viral, the party's state unit alleged that its candidate in Khatima seat, S S Kaler, "caught the Chief Minister red-handed" and urged the Election Commission and the state electoral officer to intervene.
In a complaint to the Election Commission, AAP has asked for Mr Dhami's candidature to be cancelled.
All 70 seats in the hill state are voting today. Key candidates include Chief Minister Dhami and his cabinet colleagues Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Arvind Pandey and Dhan Singh Rawat. Prominent faces from the main challenger Congress include former chief minister Harish Rawat and state Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal.
