Why a UP village has decided to boycott polls

Residents of Majlis Taufikpur in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency have collectively decided to not vote, citing poor condition of roads. Gaurav Arora reports.

With Lok Sabha polls inching closer, candidates are leaving no stone unturned to woo voters in their favour.

However, there is a village in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency that has collectively decided to not vote, citing poor condition of roads.

Large numbers of residents of Majlis Taufikpur have threatened to boycott polls if the main road connecting their village to the other part is not constructed.

One of the villagers, Kuldeep Saini, said, "Our village comes under Bijnor Lok Sabha constituency. A lot of leaders are coming because of Lok Sabha elections but no one does anything. The main road is in very bad condition. Now the villagers have decided that they will vote only when there is a proper road."

Veer Singh, another resident, said, "We have a lot of issues but there is this road problem which affects us very adversely. The road is in a very bad condition and there are big potholes. A lot of accidents have also happened in which our children have gotten injured. We have now decided that vote will be given only on the basis of work otherwise we will not give the vote. The whole village has unanimously taken the decision".

He also said that there is no inter-college for girls in the village.

Village headman Yogesh Thakur is also supporting the campaign of 'no road, no vote' and said, "Our main road is almost non-existent. The road has broken quite a long time ago -- in the year 2013 -- but no one is reconstructing it. We have decided that there will be no vote until we have a road. Every time we get promises but we want work done now."

Seven-phase elections in the country are slated to begin on April 11 and will go on till May 19. Counting of votes will be held on May 23.

There are 80 Lok Sabha seats at stake in Uttar Pradesh, polling for which will be held in all seven phases. Polling in Bijnor will be held in the first phase of elections on April 11.