Akhilesh accuses BJP of using EC to influence polls

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of using the Election Commission to influence elections and alleged that voter names had been deleted from electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh, while asserting that the INDIA bloc would not accept defeat.

Addressing the Opposition bloc's 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao' rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, Yadav said those who had come to power in Uttar Pradesh would be ousted, as the people of the state would give them a "befitting send-off".

The rally is part of the INDIA bloc's protest against alleged irregularities in the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have accused the poll body of facilitating the wrongful deletion of eligible voters and have demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Election Commission has defended the revision exercise, saying it is intended to identify deceased, duplicate, shifted and untraceable entries, while eligible voters can seek inclusion through the prescribed process.

"The INDIA bloc and its allies have united against those who have weakened the country's democracy. The BJP claimed that 1.27 crore Hindu voters' names had been deleted in Uttar Pradesh. If we divide this figure across 403 Assembly constituencies, it comes to around 31,000 votes per constituency. The truth is that they want to blame others for their impending defeat," Yadav said.

He alleged that the BJP knew it could not win elections on its own and was therefore using the Election Commission.

"The BJP knows it cannot win among the people and is therefore using the Election Commission. Who does not know that the West Bengal elections were looted?" he said.

Yadav also referred to the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, alleging that votes had been stolen and names removed from electoral rolls. He said Samajwadi Party workers and PDA sentinels had identified voters who had cast their ballots in 2019 but were unable to vote in 2022.

"We in the INDIA bloc will not accept defeat. In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, votes were stolen and names were removed from voter lists. Our party workers and PDA sentinels identified voters who had voted in 2019 but could not vote in 2022. We submitted affidavits to the Election Commission, but no action was taken on our complaints," he said.

Describing Ramlila Maidan as "democracy's Haldighati", Yadav said a new chapter of history was being written and that "parivartan" could come at any time.

The Samajwadi Party chief's remarks came as Opposition leaders used the rally to step up their criticism of the BJP and the Election Commission over the voter-roll revision exercise.