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The Election Commission of India has taken serious note of the violation of its code of conduct in the by-poll to the Haidergarh assembly seat polling for which will take place on Saturday. Chief Minister Raj Nath Singh is contesting the election.
Expressing its 'displeasure' over the functioning of the district administration in Haidergarh, the EC has ordered that the result be withheld.
"Polling would be held under tight security and the result would be declared only after the written permission of the EC," K J Rao, the commission secretary told a press conference in Lucknow on Friday evening.
The EC has ordered suspension of the station house officers of the Loni Katra and Haidergarh police stations for turning a blind eye to the blatant violations of the election code of conduct.
By-elections to two seats - Haidergarh in Barabanki district and Sadabad in Hathras district - are to be held on Saturday.
Rao was specially sent by the EC to assess the situation in Haidergarh following complaints, including about 'misuse of government machinery and intimidation of voters by persons in power'.
"After taking a round of the constituency on Thursday and Friday, I submitted a preliminary report to the EC," Rao said.
"The commission is unhappy with the working of the district administration," he added, hinting that further action might follow after he submits a complete report and on the basis of the periodical reports sent by the three central observers.
Referring to the complaints of intimidation of voters, Rao said, "One of the observers was witness to gross intimidation of lower caste voters by ruling party MP Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, who was seen roaming around some of the villages with guns and other sophisticated firearms."
He said, "The district magistrate had been asked to take suitable action against the Member of Parliament."
Rao himself took exception to the presence of two ministers, Rang Nath Misra and Yashwant Singh, in the constituency on Friday morning.
"They were found moving in a car without a number plate along with two police escort cars. I requested them to leave the constituency since campaigning had concluded on Thursday evening. They readily conceded my request," Rao said.
On allegations of misuse of government vehicles, he said, "On Thursday evening, I found 20 government vehicles parked outside the residence of a politician hosting a party in Gopalpur village. The registration number of each vehicle has been given to the state chief secretary and he has been asked to submit a detailed report, by Sunday afternoon, explaining their presence in Gopalpur village late at night."
Counting was due on Monday, but the EC had directed the returning officer not to declare the result without its written approval.
"The EC would be in a position to take a decision on the complaints only after receiving reports from all quarters," he added.
Even though Rao was confident that polling would be 'free and fair', the EC is taking no chances and has ordered heavy deployment of security forces.
At least one armed guard and four constables are to be stationed in each of the 252 polling stations to prevent booth capturing or other irregularities about which serious apprehensions have been expressed by some opposition parties.
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