Akhilesh alleges conspiracy over ‘missing’ Hindu voters claim: ‘BJP planning to bring outsiders’

Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the BJP had called key organisational meetings in the state to “prepare” for the alleged “missing” voters.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of conspiring to bring people from other states and register them as voters in Uttar Pradesh, amid the row over chief minister Yogi Adityanath's claim that 1.27 crore Hindu voters are missing from the state's electoral rolls.

Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate the electoral rolls in the state. (ANI)

Accusing the BJP of attempting to manipulate the electoral rolls in the state, Yadav claimed that the party had called key organisational meetings in the state to “prepare” for the alleged “missing” voters.

“If it is true that 1.27 Crore Hindu voters are missing, that is precisely why this meeting (of BJP) is taking place. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is preparing regarding those 'shifting' votes, votes that were deleted due to people relocating (to Delhi or elsewhere), or instances where fraudulent names had been added,” news agency ANI cited the Samajwadi Party chief as saying. There was no immediate response from the BJP on the claims.

Yadav alleged that the BJP was orchestrating a plan involving “underground or unregistered elements”. He claimed the ruling party was planning “to bring in individuals from Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and potentially other locations as well, in order to get them registered as voters.”

Yadav made the remarks after arriving at the Samajwadi Party's state headquarters to attend an election review meeting with assembly-level presidents of 86 reserved constituencies.

UP CM claims 1.27 crore Hindu voters ‘missing’; Muslim voters increased by 1.65%

Akhilesh Yadav's remarks come after UP CM Adityanath claimed that 1.27 crore Hindu voters were missing from the draft electoral rolls of the state.

Talking to a private channel, Adityanath alleged that the number of Muslim voters had increased by 1.65%, and cited discrepancies between panchayat and assembly electoral rolls, claiming that 66 lakh voters listed in panchayat voter lists were missing from assembly rolls.

He also referred to 55 lakh Hindu beneficiaries of government welfare schemes and 4.5 lakh voters in the 18-19 age group whose names, he claimed, were missing. He said the BJP had submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission seeking the inclusion of eligible voters left out of the rolls.

‘Thank the PDA praharis, workers, leaders for protecting their votes’: Akhilesh

Yadav thanked the PDA volunteers and workers for “protecting their votes and sharing information from time to time.” Yadav coined the term ‘PDA’, which he said stands for the ‘Pichhda (Backward Classes / OBCs), Dalit, and Alpsankhyak (minorities, including Muslims and other groups)’. Yadav has made the term a part of his core political strategy in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav claimed that the BJP had “made extensive attempts to delete votes on a large scale”, but said that the PDA communities had suceeded in “protecting their votes.” He further said that UP CM Adityanath's claim of 1.27 crore Hindu voters' names being deleted was part of a “deep-rooted conspiracy to spread fear in society and reap political benefits”, news agency PTI reported.