Lucknow. Amidst the counting of votes for the Legislative Council elections, Samajwadi Party's National President Akhilesh Yadav has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Election Commission and the administration of alleged irregularities in the electoral process. By posting on social media platform X, he alleged collusion between BJP, Election Commission and the administration and demanded improvement in the electoral process.
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that irregularities are committed at different stages of the election process. According to him, before the elections, problems arise regarding the names in the voter list, during the voting the opposition supporters have to face obstacles in casting their votes and there are complaints of irregularities even during the counting of votes.
Questions raised regarding ballot at Kanti Singh's booth
The SP President raised the issue of finding unfolded ballot paper at booth number 97 of the party's candidate from Lucknow section, Kanti Singh. He raised questions linking this matter to alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
In his post, Akhilesh hit out at the BJP, the Election Commission and the administration, alleging that there were three levels of electoral irregularities—from preparation of voter list to voting and then counting of votes. He also called BJP an 'election gang'. These allegations have been made by the SP President; These have not been independently confirmed.
Earlier, during the counting of votes of Gorakhpur-Faizabad Block Teacher Constituency, a claim of getting more votes than the record recorded in the ballot box of booth number 115 of Mau had come to light. According to the complaint, there were 623 votes recorded in the records, whereas it was said that 675 ballots were found in the ballot box. Apart from this, a complaint was also made regarding the seal of a ballot box which came from Bankata area of Deoria.
Dharmendra Kashyap and Kirti Kashyap welcomed to join SP
During a press conference in Lucknow, Akhilesh Yadav welcomed the joining of former MP Dharmendra Kashyap and his daughter Kirti Kashyap in the Samajwadi Party. He said that leaders of various parties are coming together with SP with the aim of strengthening the PDA.
Referring to Neeraj Maurya and Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh said that the participation of social classes will strengthen the PDA. At the same time, Shivpal Yadav, calling Dharmendra Kashyap his old friend, expressed happiness over him and Kirti Kashyap joining the party. He said that SP will try to connect people of different classes and castes before the 2027 assembly elections.
Questions also raised on voter list and identification system
Akhilesh Yadav demanded to correct the voter lists before the upcoming elections. He alleged deletion of voters' names through Special Intensive Verification (SIR) and suggested use of technologies like Aadhaar and biometric identification in the voting process.
He also alleged that voters face problems due to less number of machines and long queues at some polling stations. According to him, equitable distribution of facilities at polling stations should be ensured.
Accusing the BJP of allegedly resorting to rigging to win the elections, Akhilesh said that the Election Commission should pay attention to the complaints related to the voter list and voting system. However, the response of the parties concerned to these allegations and the status of the official investigation into the complaints remains to be clarified.