New Delhi, May 7 (NDTV): Among several pictures that the Aam Aadmi Party tweeted today complaining about what it alleged was violation of election rules by Rahul Gandhi as his constituency Amethi voted, was one that showed him in a poll booth, seeming to look down at an Electronic Voting Machine or EVM. AAP tweeted, "Is the candidate allowed to go to the polling machine?"
The Election Commission said this evening that "Going to the EVM is not allowed."
Deputy Election Commissioner Vinod Zutshi also said that the panel was "yet to see this....it's a speculative situation. Rules are very clear. We will wait for reports."
In another picture AAP tweeted, Mr Gandhi stood talking to some people in a booth. AAP asked, "Does the election commission allow candidates to stand and chat inside polling stations?"
A huge debate raged on social media through the day on who is allowed in a polling booth and how.
AAP also tweeted a video recording of what it alleged was a both-capturing attempt. It did not say by which party, but in a series of other tweets made specific allegations.
Early on Wednesday morning, the party complained against Mr Gandhi for moving around in a large motorcade. "We have complained to the Election Commission, he was using 24 cars," said Kumar Vishwas, whom Arvind Kejriwal's party has fielded against Mr Gandhi in what has hitherto been seen as one of the safest seats in the country for the Congress.
That Mr Gandhi was in Amethi on polling day and out touring a constituency he has effortlessly won since 2004, was interpreted by his rivals as an acknowledgement that he faces a tough contest this time. AAP claimed credit. So did the BJP. "Kam se kam zameen par to aaye (At least his feet have touched the ground)... He realizes that Amethi is a tough fight," said the BJP's Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
The BJP's Smriti Irani complained about the presence of Prinyanka Gandhi's political secretary Preeti Sahay at an Amethi polling booth. AAP tweeted its protest. Ms Sahay was asked to leave Amethi in compliance with election rules,
On a day of complaints in Amethi, even Rahul Gandhi complained about the lotus drawn on the blackboard of a village school that was being used as a polling station.