File photo: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav
NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of conspiring to manipulate electoral rolls by adding bogus votes and deleting genuine votes of opposition supporters, urging party workers to remain vigilant at their respective polling booths ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.Addressing party leaders and workers from various districts at the SP headquarters in Lucknow, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister alleged that the BJP was resorting to electoral malpractice to win elections and disregarding the Constitution.In a statement released by the party, Yadav said, "BJP is conspiring to add fake votes to electoral rolls. Party workers should remain vigilant at their respective polling booths.
The BJP considers fake votes and dishonesty its strength. It resorts to different types of electoral manoeuvres, including getting fake votes added to electoral rolls and genuine votes of opposition parties deleted."He urged people to remain alert against what he described as "vote theft and donation theft".
Yadav raises concerns over
Yadav's allegations come days after he questioned the rationale behind the Election Commission's Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls.
He had said the Samajwadi Party was not opposed to either the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) or SSR, but would resist any alleged attempt to manipulate voter lists to benefit the BJP."When the Election Commission of India spent thousands of crores of rupees and completed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls a couple of months ago, what is the need for SSR?" Yadav had asked.He also alleged that complaints about irregularities in electoral rolls had not resulted in punitive action, despite what he described as documentary evidence. During the news conference,Yadav presented a man named Vikas Yadav, claiming that his name appeared at 12 different places on the electoral rolls.The SP chief also said the party had deployed PDA praharis to assist voters with the revision exercise at the booth level.
BJP accused of failing on governance
Apart from electoral issues, Yadav criticised the BJP government's record in Uttar Pradesh, citing inflation, unemployment, corruption, alleged misuse of public funds, injustice and atrocities as concerns affecting people.He accused the ruling party of protecting land grabbers and alleged that people associated with the BJP were encroaching on land belonging to poor and vulnerable sections of society, as well as government land.Yadav further claimed that people approaching authorities for justice were being implicated in cases and that the police often sided with influential BJP supporters.He asserted that public support for a Samajwadi Party government was growing and expressed confidence that voters would hold the BJP accountable in the 2027 Assembly elections."Once the BJP is removed from power in 2027, it will never return," Yadav said.He also claimed that the PDA community, referring to Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (backward classes, Dalits and minorities), was united and alleged that the BJP government and the chief minister were targeting its members because of their unity.
Education system and examination leaks flagged
Yadav accused the BJP government of weakening Uttar Pradesh's education system, claiming that more than 26,000 primary schools had been shut down over the past decade while the number of liquor shops had increased.He alleged that corruption and exploitation had harmed school education and that teachers, educational institutions, graduates and young people faced discrimination.The SP chief also claimed that Uttar Pradesh had recorded the highest number of examination paper leaks in the country, accusing the state government of failing to ensure the integrity of recruitment and other examinations.
In his earlier remarks, Yadav had also alleged that concerns over voter-list manipulation extended across generations, saying that young people were raising questions about the electoral process.He additionally criticised the BJP's proposed 'One Nation, One Election' plan, alleging that it could allow the party to consolidate control over governments across the country and avoid accountability through repeated elections.Yadav maintained that the BJP had little to show for its time in office and accused its leadership of wasting time in government.