The Samajwadi Party has petitioned the Election Commission of India that voters are terrorised and intimidated in Azamgarh and Rampur Lok Sabha seats which go to polls on Thursday.

In a complaint filed to the ECI, the SP has demanded a direction to the district officials for conducting polling in a free, fair and transparent manner.

Former chief minister of UP and SP president Akhilesh Yadav said here on Wednesday that the Bharatiya Janata Party knew that it could never win the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat and was therefore misusing the official machinery and Samajwadi Party leaders and workers were being framed in false cases. He alleged that in Rampur, many SP workers had been detained in police stations without any charges against them.

The SP alleged in its complaint that party cadre and village pradhans were being intimidated in Sagdi, Gopalpur and Mehnagar assembly seats falling in Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency.

The SP also alleged that the BJP leaders had given a list of the SP supporters and voters to the local police station officers to prevent them from casting their votes on Thursday. The SP alleged that in both the Lok Sabha constituencies, ministers of the BJP government had directed the lekhpals and panchayat secretaries to ensure that the votes from their villages were cast in favour of the BJP candidate.

Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav appealed to the voters to ensure the victory of SP candidate Dharmendra Yadav from Azamgarh. He asked the voters to be vigilant against the disinformation campaign by the BJP through various means, including social media.

“I and my father Mulayam Singh Yadav are no strangers to voters of Azamgarh and both of us are members of the larger Azamgarh family," Akhilesh Yadav said.

The SP chief issued a similar appeal to the voters of Rampur, urging them to ensure the success of the party candidate Asim Raza from Rampur.