Lucknow, Nov 20 (HBTV): A 23-year-old Dalit woman's body was found in a sack in Uttar Pradesh's Karhal constituency today, November 20. The incident has sparked a political storm after her family alleged that a local Samajwadi Party worker had been pressuring her against voting for BJP in the by-polls being held today.

Police said Prashant Yadav and Mohan Katheria have been arrested in a case registered on the complaint of the woman's father.

"The parents of the woman have said the accused killed her because she wanted to vote for the BJP," Mainpuri district police chief Vinod Kumar said.

The victim's father alleged that when Prashant Yadav came to their home three days back asked her which party she would vote for, she replied she would vote 'lotus' -- BJP's symbol -- because her family got a home under the PM Awas Yojana. Yadav then threatened her and asked her to vote for 'cycle' -- the Samajwadi Party's election symbol, the woman's father alleged.

The BJP has launched a scathing attack on the Samajwadi Party over the woman's death.

"At Karhal in Mainpuri district, Samajwadi Party's Prashant Yadav and his aides brutally murdered a Dalit daughter only because she refused to vote for 'cycle'," state BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said in a post on X.

While senior Samajwadi Party leaders are yet to respond to the incident, the party's Karhal candidate Tej Pratap Yadav said there must be a thorough and the guilty must face tough punishment.

(With input from NDTV)