UP MLC polls: Akhilesh casts vote, alleges electoral malpractice

SP chief alleges that reports from across the state indicate attempts at bogus voting and efforts to prevent SP voters from reaching polling stations

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday cast his vote for the legislative council election for the Agra-Aligarh graduates’ constituency at Saifai in Etawah district even as he accused the BJP of large-scale electoral malpractice.

SP national president Akhilesh Yadav casting his vote for the MLC polls in Saifai on October 23. (Sourced)

Voting for 11 seats in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC), comprising five graduate and six teachers’ constituencies, was held from 8:00am to 4:pm.

Speaking to the media after casting his vote, Yadav claimed that the ruling party appeared “despondent and frustrated”. Yadav alleged that the ruling party deployed “goons and corrupt officials” to obstruct SP supporters and engage in fraudulent voting. “The public stands against the BJP and will ensure its defeat by casting every single vote against it,” the SP chief claimed.

He further alleged that reports from across the state indicated attempts at bogus voting and efforts to prevent SP voters from reaching polling stations. Targeting the Election Commission, Yadav alleged that its officials appeared to have “fallen into a deep slumber choosing to turn a blind eye despite witnessing everything.”

In contrast, he said, his party was struggling to protect and strengthen democratic institutions. The SP chief listed a series of grievances against the BJP’s decade-long rule, alleging that the party had done nothing for teachers or the youth, failed to provide employment, raised diesel and petrol prices and neglected healthcare.

Farmers, Yadav said, were unable to obtain fertilisers, many of the chemicals for these were sourced from other countries due to a failed foreign and trade policy. He accused the government of making a “mockery of the Constitution,” dismantling the reservation system and closing primary schools.

On the upcoming UP assembly polls, he said that the SP was fully prepared. “In the 2027 assembly elections, people will wipe out the BJP,” Yadav claimed.

Meanwhile, SP chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary in a statement alleged that the BJP, terrified of defeat, had left no stone unturned in perpetrating malpractice, dishonesty and harassing opposition supporters. Ministers, MLAs and influential leaders, he alleged, had abandoned all norms of public decorum and morality, engaging in booth capturing and efforts to influence voting in a “shameless” manner that amounted to “the murder of democracy.”