Thane (Maharashtra), May 20 : Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ally Nationalist Congress Party (SP) National General Secretary Dr. Jitendra Awhad has alleged that the election process was being 'deliberately slowed' by the polling officials, even as Mahayuti Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis brought the issue to the notice of the Election Commission of India (ECI), here on Monday.

He visited some polling stations in and around Thane and said that there were massive queues of people waiting for three-four hours for their turn, but the elections officials were going about their duties casually, putting the masses to great inconvenience and depriving them of their voting rights.

'They are not at all serious' They are seen gossiping among themselves. People are not being called inside quickly, the officials are going about their job at a leisurely pace and delaying the election process,' an irate Dr. Awhad told mediapersons.

MVA ally Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray said that in many polling stations, there was lack of or inadequate arrangements for voters to sit, drinking water, shade, fans and other amenities, especially in the lower-middle class localities that left many hassled, especially elders or senior citizens, and one voter had fainted in the heat.

Marathi actor and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aadesh Bandekar fumed as there was a malfunction in the EVM at a polling station in Powai, Mumbai, with huge crowds queuing up to cast their votes, but after waiting hours, many disappointed people returned without voting.

There were several complaints of EVM glitches from Mankhurd, Tardeo (Mumbai), Bhiwandi and Dombivli (Thane), Satpur (Nashik) and certain other places which further prolonged the voting process, and local leaders of various candidates filed complaints.

Dr. Awhad demanded that all the people who were standing in the queues must be allowed to exercise their franchise amid reports that many people had left polling centres owing to the delays and long queues in the blistering heat.

Fadnavis said that he asked the polling authorities to speed up the voting process to enable the maximum number of people to cast their votes.

BJP Mumbai North seat candidate Piyush Goyal also complained about the 'slow election process' that left many people upset in the Magathane area of his constituency, with quite a few seen going back without voting.

Ruling Shiv Sena MLA Dilip Lande said that there were delays owing to certain technical issues, but claimed that the polling officials were working to rectify the problems.

At many polling stations in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar (ST), Dindori (ST), Dhule and Nashik districts, massive queues and crowds of voters were witnessed, braving the scorching temperatures to exercise their voting rights.

Outside a major polling centre at a college in Kandivali east suburb, serpentine queues were witnessed that spilled onto the roads from 7 A.M. onwards, but with a restricted entry permitting one person at a time from the gate.

This created a huge bottleneck, sparking verbal duels among the voters, security and polling officials who attempted to separate the queues as per the polling booths. However, without faster access inside, chaos continued and added to the delays.

An enraged senior citizen accused the local polling authorities of 'intentionally' hindering the voting, unmindful of elderly persons, women or even sick people waiting for hours, ostensibly to demoralise or force them to return without voting.

(Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)

/IANS