photo courtesy : The Hindu
New Delhi, 30 October—Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today accused the ruling BJP of a poster campaign showing the Congress was demanding 200 seats from the Samajwadi Party for the coming assembly elections with the objective of dividing the INDIA block and spread confusion among party cadres.
Calling the posters “fake”, the Samajwadi Party (SP) chief demanded action against municipal officials for allowing their display without permission or payment of the prescribed fees.
Claiming that the BJP is worried about the opposition alliance, Yadav said in an X post that the posters have been put up without official permission or payment of the requisite charges.
The remarks followed after posters and hoardings with the slogan “200 seat haq hai hamara, UP ko hai Rahul Gandhi par bharosa” appeared in Lucknow and other districts, carrying images of Rahul Gandhi and local leaders, with Akhilesh accusing the BJP of putting them up to create a rift in the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance ahead of next year’s Uttar Pradesh elections.
The posters highlight the Congress’ “push” for roughly 200 seats as part of its seat-sharing negotiations with the Samajwadi Party (SP), though not many within the SP are convinced of the former’s political heft to demand so many seats, sources said.
Demanding action against the officials concerned, Yadav said the municipal authorities should be suspended for failing to act against those putting up the posters without paying the required fees.
He alleged that the “unauthorised” display of the posters is causing revenue losses to the local bodies, claiming that non-payment of fees could be aimed at concealing the identities of those behind the campaign.
Yadav also said that the SP is maintaining a date-wise record of such “incidents” and the officials responsible for them.
He also said that if voted to power, the SP-led PDA government would take action against officials involved in corruption, and activate the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Economic Offences Wing to examine their conduct.
PDA is an acronym coined by Yadav that stands for ‘Pichhde’ (backward classes), Dalits, and ‘Alpsankhyak’ (minorities).
Congress’ Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said the INDIA bloc is united and its fight is aimed at protecting social justice, democracy and the Constitution.
In a post on X, Gautam said the BJP can spread confusion or hatch conspiracies, but it won’t be able to break or even harm the opposition alliance.
“The INDIA bloc is united, and it will remain united,” he said.
After much dilly-dallying, the Congress officially initiated seat-sharing talks with the SP earlier this week for next year’s Assembly elections, submitting an initial list of more than “175 seats” where the party feels it can make an impression in an alliance.
The list has been shared with the SP leaders, Gautam had told PTI then, adding that the leaders of the two parties will soon hold a detailed discussion on the seat-sharing arrangements.
“I can’t give you the exact numbers, but we have submitted a list for 175 to 200 seats,” Gautam had said, hinting that the party is open to negotiations ahead of the polls to the 403 Assembly seats in the state.
In yet another serious charge, SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav accused officials of helping BJP workers manipulate voter lists during the ongoing electoral roll revision.
Though State’s Chief Electoral Officer has sought specific details from Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav but it seems rather difficult to furnish evidence of such an effort as it was being done electronically.
In a post on X, Yadav claimed that some sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) were sharing their login IDs and passwords with people deputed by the BJP to delete SP supporters’ names and add those of ruling party voters.
“Now, only those officers are being posted as SDMs in Uttar Pradesh who hand over their IDs and passwords to a BJP-deputed worker. These BJP workers sit with VRCs and work to delete SP votes and add BJP votes. This is because the OTP is received on the ID and password held by the BJP person. The same person gives the approval,” he alleged.
The Rajya Sabha MP also claimed that a target had been set to delete around 10,000 SP supporters’ names from the rolls in each Assembly constituency.
“The Election Commission should take cognisance of this and initiate punitive action against the officers found guilty,” he said.
Responding on X, Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa asked Yadav to identify any constituency where he suspected such misconduct, promising a prompt inquiry and action.
“With reference to the post quoted above, you are requested to kindly inform us if there is any such complaint or suspicion regarding the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of even a single Assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. An inquiry will be conducted promptly and effective action will be taken,” Rinwa posted.
The Samajwadi Party, the principal opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, has accused the Election Commission of irregularities in election-related processes to favour the BJP ahead of Assembly polls early next year.
The election office has denied the charges.
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