New Delhi: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has alleged that the BJP intentionally lost the recent assembly bypolls in Bihar’s Bankipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Datia as part of a strategy to counter allegations about the electoral process and weaken criticism over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
Speaking at a Brahmin Sammelan held at the Samajwadi Party headquarters on the birth anniversary of socialist leader Janeshwar Mishra, Yadav claimed the BJP did not use the same election strategy in the two bypolls that it had allegedly adopted in states such as Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
According to the SP chief, the ruling party deliberately accepted defeat in both constituencies to create the impression that elections were being conducted fairly. He alleged that the BJP wanted to discourage Opposition parties from raising questions about EVMs by pointing to these electoral losses as evidence of a transparent process.
Yadav further claimed that the BJP’s defeats were part of an attempt to mislead the public and weaken the Opposition’s criticism of the electoral system.
Targeting the BJP over its loss in Bankipur, he alleged that leaders of the ruling party were celebrating the defeat. He remarked that BJP leaders were distributing sweets among themselves despite the result and suggested they would continue similar gestures during future elections, while asserting that Samajwadi Party workers would not be influenced.
In an apparent reference to former Samajwadi Party leaders who later joined the BJP and became ministers in the Uttar Pradesh government, Yadav said the party would move forward by promoting committed workers. He added that those who had left the SP were free to do so and that the party would fill the positions they had vacated with loyal members.
Yadav’s remarks came shortly after the Bankipur Assembly bypoll in Bihar was won by Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor, while Congress candidate Ghanshyam Singh secured victory over the BJP in the Datia Assembly bypoll in Madhya Pradesh. The Bankipur bypoll had drawn significant political attention after BJP state president Nitin Nabin vacated the seat, making it one of the most closely watched contests for the ruling party.
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