Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the Election Commission (EC) of shielding the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) alleged vote theft by hiding behind district magistrates (DMs) and giving lower-level officials, like lekhpals, “free rein” to manipulate voter rolls. Speaking to reporters, Yadav claimed the BJP is systematically weakening constitutional institutions to serve its political agenda, undermining public rights.

Yadav highlighted that only 14 of the 18,000 affidavits submitted by SP regarding voter list irregularities in the 2022 UP assembly elections have been addressed, calling the EC’s clarifications “half-baked.” “If someone is declared dead, there must be a death certificate,” he demanded, announcing a dedicated press conference to expose voter fraud. He accused DMs of deflecting responsibility to chief electoral officers and police, who in turn enable lekhpals to follow the BJP’s bidding. “This government has no truth to show,” he charged.

Criticizing the BJP’s governance, Yadav alleged it cripples independent bodies, stating, “The weaker the institutions, the greater the loss to people’s rights.” He also addressed social welfare, promising that an SP government would enhance support for persons with disabilities through quotas, financial aid, and better assistive devices, contrasting this with the current government’s “poor-quality” provisions. On education, he accused the BJP of lying about school closures and targeting SP’s PDA (Pichre, Dalit, Alpashankhak) community schools.

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Yadav raised concerns about farmers, citing deaths in fertilizer queues and leopard attacks in Bijnor, while accusing the government of ignoring rural crises. He pledged to join Rahul Gandhi’s INDIA bloc yatra, calling it a “joint programme to protect democracy.” Social media posts on X, like @yadavakhilesh’s August 21 tweet, noted, “18000-14 = 17986,” emphasizing the EC’s inadequate response to SP’s affidavits. Users like @TARUNspeakss criticized the EC’s inaction, alleging it operates from “BJP headquarters.”

Also Read: Akhilesh Yadav Alleges BJP’s Vote Manipulation Plot in Bihar’s SIR