In two consecutive recruitment cycles, 2015 and 2018, the Union government has left thousands of seats vacant without stating why. Meanwhile, thousands of qualified candidates remain unemployed.

Originally advertising about 900 vacancies, the state government reduced the number, leaving 3,200 candidates competing for 667 positions.

While VHP leaders stopped some speakers who were issuing calls for anti-Muslim violence on stage, no such hesitation was visible when these speakers gave bites to the media.

Citizens claim that workers of the saffron party used intimidation tactics to stop them from voting, while opposition candidates assert that booth-capturing took place in full view of the police.