New Delhi: The nomination papers were filed for Uttar Pradesh block pramukh elections 2021 on Thursday (July 8) amid reports of several violent incidents from Siddharthnagar, Sitapur, Gorakhpur and Sambhal. Candidates will be able to withdraw their nominations on Friday.
The voting for the elections of block pramukhs (block chairpersons) will be held on July 10 from 11 am to 3 pm while the counting of votes will start after 3 pm the same day. More than 75,500 ward members will choose block chief during the electoral process.
Among the 825 blocks, BJP has won unopposed in 275 blocks, including on all five blocks of Shravasti. Last week, in the UP Zila Panchayat elections, BJP claimed victory and said that its party-backed candidates won 67 of 75 seats.
In these elections, people do not vote directly, but the block development council (BDC) members cast their votes. These elections will be the last of the rural polls before the high-profile 2022 UP assembly elections.
Samajwadi Party state president Naresh Uttam Patel has submitted a memorandum to the State Election Commission and raised the issue of ruckus that erupted during the filing of nomination papers on Thursday. The SP has also alleged that its candidates were not allowed to file nomination papers. SP MLC Sunil Kumar Sajan, in Unnao, alleged that the police were working actively to prevent non-BJP candidates from filing nominations. "This is state-sponsored terrorism and certainly not what is expected in a democracy. We strongly condemn this," he said.
According to reports, in Sitapur, three people received bullet injuries when an independent candidate Munni Devi arrived to file her nomination in Kamlapur. In Siddharthnagar, former Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker, Mata Prasad Pandey was assaulted. SP and BJP supporters clashed in Kannauj. A journalist with a news channel was beaten up while he was filming the incident.
