Moradabad, Feb 15 (IANS): An audio clip of BSP candidate from Kundarki Assembly segment and sitting MLA, Haji Rizwan, has gone viral in which he can be heard appealing to his supporters to cast their votes in favour of BJP "to prevent Samajwadi Party's Zia-ur Rahman, the grandson of Sambhal MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq, from winning the seat".

Kundarki went to polls on Monday.

Rizwan, who had recently switched over from SP after being denied a ticket, was unfazed. He told reporters that 'under no circumstances' should the SP candidate win.

"So, I appealed to my voters. I said nothing wrong. What else should I have said? We have supported Dr Barq five times in the past, but this time it's different," he explained.

Rizwan, who was an SP member for over a decade, added, "Tickets were distributed by senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav. I don't know what their strategy is. My voters are with me and I am thankful to them. The audio clip was leaked by my rivals. I have no regrets. They (SP) have stabbed me in the back. Now, I won't let them take my seat. They will lose badly from here."

In the audio clip, Rizwan while speaking to Ajay Kumar Prajapati, a cousin of BJP candidate from the seat Kamal Prajapati, can be heard saying in Hindi, "If your people vote for me let them do so, but if they are planning to cast their vote for SP, it should not happen."

Slamming the BSP candidate, the SP candidate said, "My grandfather Dr Barq won because of the people of the constituency and not because of Rizwan. Now he is asking voters to support BJP when the entire state wants to throw them out of power. I am sure voters of Kundarki will teach him a lesson for his shameful deed."

A local SP leader said, "We will now play the audio clip in constituency where polling is not over and expose the nexus between BSP and BJP."