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New Delhi
Barely hours before the first phase of the staggered polls were to begin in Uttar Pradesh, a news channel Friday telecast a sting operation showing nearly a dozen candidates of at least two key political parties accepting money and promising dubious favors to their financiers after their election.

The sting operation, carried out by CNN-IBN news channel in collaboration with Cobrapost news portal, which also highlighted several lacunae in the Indian electoral system, caught on spy camera at least five Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidates and four of the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), including former ministers and sitting MLAs, accepting cash purportedly to fund their election and promising favours in return.

BSP candidate and former state minister Awadh Pal Singh was shown saying that he bought the party ticket from BSP supreme Mayawati for Rs.2.8 million and expressed willingness to even topple the government led by Mayawati for the money. Singh boasted that he was a master at engineering defections in political parties.

Another BSP MLA from Kannauj and party candidate Kalyan Singh Dhore promised to have his financier's adversaries eliminated in fake police encounters and quoted a price of Rs.5 million. He boasted that he had already got at least five people killed through such gun battles. He also said he was an expert in booth capturing and was ready to capture at least 50 booths in the Uttar Pradesh elections.

Another BSP candidate Satyaprakash Yadav boasted of having criminals and musclemen on his payroll to help in winning the elections. He said he could arrange 30 musclemen at any point of time.

The sting operation showed SP MLA Prem Singh Daroga admitting that he funded his elections through hawala (illegal money) transactions. He said he has already spent more money than permitted by the law.

Another SP MLA Madan Singh Gautam was caught boasting that he had fielded at least four dummy candidates to cut into the vote share of his rival.

Another party candidate Uday Veer Singh said that he was ready to create a ruckus in the assembly on any issue for a price.

SP candidate Sanatan Pandey promised to shield his financiers from the Income Tax and vigilance sleuths. Vyas Muni Yadav of the Rashtriya Kranti party said he gave Rs.600,000 to a Bharatiya Janata Party MP to buy the ticket. 

IANS | April 6, 2007

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