BJP Worker Caught on Camera Plotting to Bribe Officials in UP's Sambhal to Lower Voter Turnout
New Delhi: A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker from Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal Lok Sabha constituency was caught on video conspiring to bribe police and polling officials to slowdown voting in Muslim-majority villages in the constituency to favour the local BJP candidate.
According to Australia-based ABC News, which published a story based on the video, now available on X (Twitter), the person identified as a BJP worker is Bhuvnesh Kumar. The Wire has not been able to verify the video independently, but ABC News says it has done so.
The ABC has obtained and verified a video showing a BJP worker named Bhuvnesh Kumar Varshney plotting to bribe police and polling officials in UP's Sambhal constituency before the May 7 poll. Watch the full video below with captions. pic.twitter.com/TWeihzlEDL
— Meghna Bali (@meghnabali) May 24, 2024
Kumar is heard in the video outlining several tactics aimed at slowing polling to ensure low voter turnout, thereby benefitting the BJP. According to the news outlet, the video dates back to a month before May 7 when the Sambahl constituency voted in the third phase of the general election.
"The [polling] agent will challenge the voter by accusing him of voting on forged documents," Kumar says in the video.
"Do not use violence, no use of firearms and any other weapon, don't physically assault anyone. You just need to create a fake scene so there will be chaos, so women will stop coming to polling stations.
"This is one way to ensure low turnout."
He also goes on to instruct his colleagues to also bribe police officers deployed at polling booths in the constituency. "You also need to meet them the day before and give them money as per their position, 500 [rupees] for officials and 100 [rupees] for juniors," Kumar says.
"Keep money in their pocket saying this is for tea only, not for anything else."
According to several voters interviewed by ABC News in Muslim-majority villages across Sambhal, they alleged police brutality and intimidation, preventing them from exercising their franchise on polling day.
The news outlet says it found another video, purportedly from Ovari village in Sambhal, where voters are seen being chased out by police officers, who hit them with batons and snatched pieces of paper from their hands.
According to the Sambhal Police, Bhuvnesh Kumar was arrested days before the polling under Section 151 of CrPC.
This article went live on May twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty four, at fifty-nine minutes past six in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
