"Good start, now EC should take cognizance of our affidavits": SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on alleged electoral malpractices

In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister termed recent developments a "good start" and urged the poll body to act on the evidence compiled by the party.

https://x.com/yadavakhilesh/status/2113846319949529513?s=20

"Well, that's a good startnow perhaps the Election Commission will also take cognizance of the thousands of affidavits we've gathered regarding electoral malpractices and scams," Yadav said.

The Samajwadi Party has consistently raised concerns regarding the transparency of the electoral process, frequently alleging voter suppression, administrative bias, and discrepancies during polling in recent elections.

The party leadership has claimed that it has documented these alleged irregularities through signed affidavits from affected voters and polling agents across various constituencies.

Earlier, on October 23, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of resorting to electoral malpractice in the MLC graduate and teacher constituency elections, alleging that the administration and corrupt officials were working together to prevent voters from exercising their franchise.

The Samajwadi Party chief asserted that the ruling party would lose despite the alleged irregularities.

Yadav claimed that teachers and graduate voters were angry with the ruling government in Uttar Pradesh and had voted against the BJP in significant numbers. He alleged that the ruling party, anticipating defeat in several districts, including Agra, Fatehpur, Etawah, Auraiya, Muzaffarnagar, Ghaziabad and Noida, had resorted to malpractice.

"Seeing their defeatin Agra, Fatehpur, Etawah, Auraiya, Muzaffarnagar, and many other districts, including Ghaziabad and Noidathey resorted to rigging. They know that the public has caught on to their 'vote theft,' so the administration and corrupt officials have colluded to try to prevent people from casting their votes," Yadav told reporters."

But despite all this, the Bharatiya Janata Party will lose," he added.

Polling for key Legislative Council constituencies, including the Allahabad-Jhansi Division Graduates' and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Division Teachers' seats, concluded on Friday under multi-tier security arrangements. Counting of votes is scheduled for October 27.

Responding to a question about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark that the opposition was attempting to protect the voting rights of infiltrators, Yadav said India's spirit of brotherhood, culture and Hindustaniyat would endure despite attempts to divide people by labelling them infiltrators.

"Look, in this country -- in India's spirit of brotherhood, in India's culture, and in our 'Hindustaniyat' (the essence of being Indian), there may indeed be many 'infiltrators.' Yet, our 'Hindustaniyat' will endure. Our 'Hindustaniyat' is rooted in mutual respect, in moving forward together, and in treating one another with dignity. No one can harm this--not even those who go around labelling others as 'infiltrators'," he said.

"The truth is, they themselves are the infiltrators. Those who keep talking about 'infiltrators' are, in fact, infiltrators themselves," the SP chief added. (ANI)