Akhilesh accuses BJP of using EC to influence polls

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav asserted on Sunday that the BJP was employing the Election Commission to sway upcoming elections, claiming that voter names had been removed from Uttar Pradesh's electoral rolls. Addressing the INDIA bloc's "Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao" rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, Yadav pledged that those who had taken power in Uttar Pradesh would be defeated, as the state's populace would deliver a fitting farewell to them.

He also alleged that the BJP was aware it would not win the elections on its merits and was resorting to the Election Commission for support. Yadav cited the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, accusing the BJP of stealing votes and erasing voters' names from the electoral rolls. He stated that Samajwadi Party workers and the Praja Divas Abhiyan (PDA) volunteers had identified individuals who had voted in 2019 but were unable to do so in 2022. Despite submitting affidavits to the Election Commission, no action was taken on their grievances.

Yadav addressed the Opposition's protest against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, which they claim has led to the unlawful deletion of eligible voters. The Election Commission maintains that the revision is aimed at identifying deceased, duplicate, shifted, and untraceable entries, while eligible voters can seek reinstatement through the proper channels. The INDIA bloc and its allies have united against those weakening India's democracy.

The BJP alleged that 1.27 crore Hindu voters' names had been removed from Uttar Pradesh's electoral rolls, estimating an average loss of around 31,000 votes per constituency. Yadav countered this claim, arguing that the BJP was attempting to shift blame for their impending defeat onto others by leveraging the Election Commission.