BJP silent about defeats in UP nagar panchayat polls, says Akhilesh Yadav

Amid accusations of EVM tampering by the BJP during UP civic polls, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said if developed countries could use ballot papers in elections, why not India

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP of “spreading lies”, saying while the party was patting its back for doing well in Uttar Pradesh’s mayoral elections, it was silent about its defeat in the nagar palika and nagar panchayat polls.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has accused the BJP of ‘spreading lies’. (Dheeraj Dhawan/HT File Photo)

“The BJP is a jhoot parosne wali party (a party which indulges in serving lies). It won 14 out of the 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh due to the electronic voting machines (EVMs). But it is not discussing its defeats in the nagar palika and nagar parishad polls,” he said Sunday.

Akhilesh, who was in Etah to attend a wedding, said, “If countries more developed than India can use ballot papers in elections, what is the problem here? The Election Commission must clarify on how could it repair a faulty EVM. When a faulty EVM can be repaired, a properly functioning EVM can also be tampered with.”

Opposition parties, including the SP, Congress, AAP, have repeatedly accused the BJP of tampering with the EVMs and rooted for an alternative way of casting votes.