Varanasi: A commotion erupted outside Pahadiya Mandi on Wednesday evening during the counting of votes for the Graduate MLC election, after BJP candidate Kedarnath Singh, former Rohaniya MLA S N Singh and hundreds of party workers staged a protest demanding removal of counting observer Pranjal Yadav.
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District magistrate Satyendra Kumar said the disturbance occurred after people without valid agent passes were stopped from entering the counting venue. The protesters raised slogans against Akhilesh Yadav and Pranjal Yadav, alleging that the observer was influencing the counting process in favour of Samajwadi Party candidate Ashutosh Sinha in the Varanasi Graduate constituency. When police tried to stop them, several BJP workers broke through barricades, entered the premises and continued their sit-in protest. He added that the situation was later brought under control. A heavy police force was deployed outside the Pahadiya Mandi counting centre, while police dispersed a gathering of SP supporters from the area. Meanwhile, SP candidate Ashutosh Sinha, along with other candidates including Arvind Singh Patel, Sunil Kumar Yadav and Ranjeet Kumar Raja, submitted a complaint to the returning officer alleging disruption of the counting process by BJP workers. In their complaint, they claimed that the counting was proceeding smoothly when BJP MLC candidate Kedarnath Singh and his counting agents allegedly disrupted the process by abusing agents of other parties, candidates and counting staff. They also alleged that the disruption led to the counting work being halted. The complainants urged the returning officer to take immediate cognisance of the incident and initiate necessary legal action. Download the TOI App.