Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of engaging in vote theft and manipulation of electoral rolls, Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday said the Ramlila Maidan has turned into the “Haldighati of democracy” with a massive turnout of people and predicted that the “wave of support” would lead to political change.
Akhilesh Yadav claimed even BJP leaders were now acknowledging irregularities in voter lists. He claimed action was beginning only after public outrage grew. He cited Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s reported statement that 1.27 crore Hindu votes had been cut in the state, amounting to roughly 31,000 votes per assembly constituency across 403 seats. Referring to the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party had documented the deletion of large numbers of its supporters from voter lists —people who had voted in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls—and submitted numerous affidavits to the Election Commission, but no action was taken against those responsible.
Yadav said the entire Opposition bloc stood united against what he described as systematic attempts to subvert the electoral process. “The BJP cannot win elections fairly, so it is colluding with the Election Commission to indulge in malpractice,” he said, according to a statement issued by the Samajwadi Party. He alleged that the chief election commissioner was central to the “conspiracy” of vote theft and voter list irregularities, and claimed a private company was also involved. He said that those raising their voices against such practices faced conspiracies and suppression by the BJP government. Referring to recent protests in Delhi, he said young people who came out against the alleged manipulations were met with police force and lathi-charge, an experience the youth would not forget. This, Yadav said, indicated the BJP’s awareness of its impending defeat. He pointed to the BJP’s dual losses in the recent Legislative Council elections in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing the outcome as a “double zero” for the party despite recounting efforts.
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister was addressing the INDIA bloc “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.
