EC might be making strategy to stop SP in UP: Akhilesh

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Friday suggested that the Election Commission might be strategising to defeat his party.

The SP leader made the remark when asked by reporters to comment on the current visit of an Election Commission (EC) delegation to Lucknow to assess poll preparedness.

The SP chief also hit out at the BJP, saying it betrayed farmers and pushed the future of youngsters into darkness.

“Members of the Samajwadi Party (SP) will go to villages with the slogan of ‘80 Harao, Loktantra Bachao (defeat 80, save democracy)’. This government has betrayed farmers,” Yadav told media persons at the party headquarters here.

“They came to power with the promise of doubling farmers’ income. But the income of farmers has not risen... they (BJP) have pushed the future of the youths into darkness,” he added.

Uttar Pradesh has 80 Lok Sabha seats, the highest for any state in the country.

“Farmers are angry and waiting for the elections because their earnings have not increased... youngsters are angry because question papers of exams they worked hard for were leaked,” Yadav said.

He was referring to the Uttar Pradesh government recently cancelling the recruitment exam for police constables held last month following widespread complaints of paper leaks.

Referring to an incident connected to the 2022 Assembly elections, Yadav said, “We had identified 10 families in Kannauj who were alive but their votes were cancelled. When we complained about it, action was taken against junior officials. The district magistrate should have been suspended.”