NaMo Food Packets At Noida Polling Booth Raise Eyebrows

New Delhi: After NaMo TV, it is NaMo food packets that have made their way into a polling station in Gautam Buddh Nagar, bordering Delhi.

On Thursday, voters queuing up to vote were taken by surprise after policemen posted at the booth reportedly started distributing packets with logos that read “NaMo food”.

The food packets were reportedly distributed outside the Noida Sector-15 club premises, which falls under the Gautam Buddh Parliamentary constituency.

Union minister Mahesh Sharma is contesting from this constituency. He is facing a young Arvind Kumar Singh of the Congress, who hopes to win back the seat that his party lost in the 1980s and the BSP’s Satveer Nagar, a rural favourite and face of the united opposition “Grand Alliance”.

According to one tweet, people who had queued up to vote raised questions over the legality of these food packets, asking if they violate the poll code.

So I’m reporting from outside sector 15A Noida/ Gautam Buddha Nagar, food platters sent inside poll booth with ‘NaMo Food’ cover on it. Many voters standing in the queue raised an eyebrow at it if it’s allowed while voting is on, if it’s a poll code violation. @dr_maheshsharma ? pic.twitter.com/AoWp4hpWEh

— Samia Kapoor (@iSamiakapoor) April 11, 2019

Election rules in India prohibit the presence of any paraphernalia related to parties or candidates within 200 metres of polling booths on election day.

However, a few Twitterati clarified that NaMo food had nothing to do with the ruling party at the Centre. It was the name of an eatery in sector 2 in Noida and is in business before even NaMo was coined.

Just to clarify….Food being taken inside by Noida police…..Tagging @noidapolice @sspnoida for further information https://t.co/uS5C3ZsTNG

— Kirandeep (@raydeep) April 11, 2019

It, however, remained unclear who had ordered the food packets inside the polling booth.

The Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer has asked the district collector to urgently file a report on the matter, a police official in Noida told Odisha Bytes.