Lucknow: Since the culmination of the fourth phase of polls, 41-year-old Devendra Kumar Pasi, who is contesting his first assembly election from Mohanlalganj on a BSP ticket, has not left the tent which his supporters have raised outside the strong room at Ambedkar Maidan.
Like Pasi, at least 50 members of BSP, Congress and SP have camped outside the strong room, where the ECI has kept 4,062 EVMs to count over 23 lakh votes polled in nine constituencies.
“Though there is three-tier security of paramilitary and local police, we want to eliminate the doubt of any mischievous activity as last time BSP had lost the constituency by merely 530 votes,” said Devendra, whose elder brother Pushpendra Kumar Pasi, was also in the fray from Sidhauli seat of Sitapur district. Associated with BSP for the last 22 years, Pasi said: “There are at least six men present here at any point of time to keep constant watch on the movement around the strong room. We don’t want to take any chances.” To feed volunteers, home-cooked food is brought by partymen and they share toilets with cops posted in strong room.
