After Gorakhpur and Phulpur wins, joint Opposition now sets eyes on Kairana

A much stronger anti-saffron alliance is using everything from Jat-Muslim unity, to cane dues, to faulty EVMs, to police excesses in order to wrest the seat from BJP

Polling in Kairana in Uttar Pradesh is taking place today amid allegations by the Opposition that the Election Commission installed faulty electronic voting machines, or EVMs, and that the local police lathi-charged voters in some polling booths.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has said hundreds of EVMs have malfunctioned in polling booths where its support base dominates, and that the police have indulged in lathi-charges to dissuade voters from exercising their franchise. Election Commission officials have attributed EVM malfunctioning to the heat. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said the Opposition is making irresponsible statements as it is losing the