Rampur: On Tuesday, Azam Khan, the Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate from Rampur said that if he does not win by over three lakh votes, it means that the election was not held in a free and fair manner across India. His remakes come amidst allegations by the opposition parties that EVMs were being tampered with and changed in several parts of Uttar Pradesh.

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Not just Azam Khan, earlier Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) had also alleged that there is "large-scale bungling relating to EVMs in UP." However, EC rejected all allegations of EVM tempering, stressing that the charges were baseless and frivolous. Election Commission also added that the panel has followed strict ‘protocol’ to keep the EVMs secure before the counting of votes on May 23.

SP Candidate Azam Khan is pitted against Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) candidate Jaya Prada in Rampur. He stoked controversies several times during the election campaign for his statements against Jaya Prada and against the poll authorities.

BJP leader Jaya Prada is an ex-SP member and joined BJP in April 2019.  Azam Khan was barred from campaigning at least twice for his provocative remarks.

Uttar Pradesh voted in all the seven phases of Lok Sabha election, conducted from April 11 to May 19. The counting of votes is scheduled for May 23. 

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