BHOPAL: The Congress on Friday alleged there were a political conspiracy afoot by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with regard to a case in Bhopal where the LED display screen outside the strong room where EVMs and VVPATs shut off for an hour-and-a-half and another case where EVMs from the Khurai Assembly constituency arrived late to the district headquarters in Sagar.
On Friday morning, the LED display screen installed outside the strong room in the old jail campus of Bhopal, stopped functioning reportedly because of a power problem. However, district Congress chief Kailash Mishra and party leaders Girish Sharma (candidate from Govindpura) and Mahendra Singh Chouhan (candidate from Narela) reached the spot and took up the issue with the staff on duty.
Later, state Congress media deputy in-charge Bhupendra Gupta alleged a political conspiracy. “The person who was tasked with electricity supply and lighting arrangements has told the collector that the power supply was shut down at the behest of a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). This smacks of a conspiracy,” alleged Gupta.
Meanwhile, another EVM related controversy erupted in Sagar district on the same day, when EVMs from the Khurai Assembly seat were brought to the district headquarters, 48 hours after the voting. While Sagar’s district collector and other officials said the machines were unused or reserve ones, senior Congress leaders protested over the issue. They alleged that before being brought to Sagar, the machines were kept at a hotel owned by the MP transport and home minister Bhupendra Singh, who is the sitting MLA and BJP candidate from Khurai seat.