Akhilesh unhappy with bypoll outcome, says "election was rigged, voters were suppressed"

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav has raised serious concerns regarding the Uttar Pradesh bypolls, alleging widespread malpractices, voter suppression, and election rigging. Speaking on Sunday, Yadav accused the Uttar Pradesh administration of deliberately hindering the voting process for SP supporters, particularly in constituencies where the party had strong support. He claimed that the party's agents were removed from various polling booths and that voters supporting SP were blocked from reaching their designated booths.

Yadav further alleged that police officers were involved in removing SP agents from polling booths. "SP agents were thrown out, and they were not allowed to work at the booths. The administration worked with an intention to prevent SP supporters from casting their votes," he said. He also accused the authorities of trying to manipulate the election process by preventing SP voters from casting their ballots. According to Yadav, several reports from the field indicated that SP supporters were prevented from entering polling booths.

Haji Rizwan, the Samajwadi Party candidate for the Kundarki constituency, also expressed dissatisfaction with the election process. Rizwan alleged that election fraud was carried out on a significant scale, which he claimed affected the outcome. "Cheating was done on such a large scale. Ninety per cent of the people don’t even have ink marks on their fingers," Rizwan said. He also accused the administration of using external influences, claiming that outsiders were brought into the area to sway the vote. Rizwan believed that if the elections had been conducted fairly, he would have won with a margin of one lakh votes.

Yadav and Rizwan both pointed to specific incidents during the election process that raised suspicions of foul play. Rizwan mentioned that he found his agents were removed from polling stations upon his arrival at a booth. “I was told that my agents were removed by the police before I arrived,” Rizwan said. He also noted that voters in certain areas were taken to different stations to prevent them from voting, suggesting that this was part of a broader plan to suppress votes in favor of the Samajwadi Party.

Yadav also highlighted reports of discrepancies in the distribution of voting slips at polling booths. He claimed that at some booths, two types of voting slips were distributed: one was regular, and the other had a red ink mark on it. This, according to Yadav, was another attempt to influence the voting process and discourage support for his party. “People from Kundarki came forward and shared how they were stopped from voting,” Yadav added.

The Kundarki bypoll, which saw BJP candidate Ramveer Thakur secure a victory, marked the party's first win in the constituency in over 30 years. Thakur received a total of 1,70,565 votes in a contest involving 12 candidates, including Rizwan. The victory by the BJP, which ended the Samajwadi Party’s dominance in the region, has come under scrutiny due to the allegations of election malpractices raised by Yadav and Rizwan. Both leaders continue to challenge the legitimacy of the election, asserting that the result does not reflect a free and fair process.