SP candidate leads by 691 votes in Agra teachers’ MLC poll amid irregularity claims
Agra : Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Akash Agrawal was leading by 691 votes after the first round of counting in the Agra division teachers’ MLC election on Tuesday, amid allegations of irregularities and a halt in counting that triggered protests by party workers outside the Mandi Samiti counting centre. They alleged that ballot papers were being removed from ballot boxes in bundles of 10 to 15 and that some did not bear the presiding officers’ signatures.
The candidates claimed that election officials had said ballots would be counted irrespective of whether they carried the required signatures. Returning officer Nagendra Pratap said counting for the Agra Division Graduate and Teachers’ Constituency was continuing. Party workers accused the administration of acting under pressure from the ruling party to ensure Agrawal’s defeat. SP president Akhilesh Yadav also raised the issue on X, alleging that counting had been stopped while his party’s candidate was leading. He urged the Election Commission to intervene. Concerns over ballot handling were also raised by SP graduate constituency candidate Shashank Yadav, alias Seetu, and independent candidate Ambrish Pal Singh. Singh also alleged that marked ballots, which he claimed should be excluded, were being included in the bundles. Both sought the Election Commission’s intervention to ensure impartial counting.