Akhilesh Yadav mocks BJP over Uttar Pradesh MLC election results
The Samajwadi Party chief criticised the ruling party's performance ahead of the INDIA bloc's 'Chalo Dilli' rally.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday regarding the recent Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council biennial election results. Speaking ahead of the INDIA bloc's 'Chalo Dilli' march at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, Yadav mocked the BJP's 'double engine' slogan, claiming it resulted in a 'double zero' and 'double defeat' following alleged recounts and counting irregularities.
According to ANI, Yadav claimed that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath acknowledged a decrease of 1.27 crore votes following the party's loss in the MLC elections. He questioned the removal of millions of voters during the Special Intensive Revision exercise and alleged that the BJP colluded with the Election Commission of India to secure recounts.
The election results saw the BJP win six of the 11 seats, including the Agra Graduates’, Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers’, Lucknow Teachers’, Meerut Teachers’, Meerut Graduates’, and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Teachers’ constituencies. The Samajwadi Party secured five seats, winning the Allahabad-Jhansi Graduates’, Varanasi Teachers’, and Agra-Aligarh Teachers’ constituencies.
BJP leader Pankaj Chaudhary stated the party retained its seats and increased its vote share. However, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said the party expected to win more seats and noted that the Samajwadi Party would not have won any seats if there had been rigging.
The 'Chalo Dilli' rally is expected to include leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, and Tejashwi Yadav. Telangana Minister Mohammad Azharuddin also commented on the event, stating the issue of 'vote theft' remains a national concern until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns.