UP bypolls: Akhilesh confident of victory

Saifai: Samajwadi Party (SP) national president and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has expressed confidence that the SP will secure a sweeping victory in the upcoming by-elections for nine Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking to party workers and officials in Saifai, Yadav asserted that the SP would win all seats with record-breaking votes.

During a meeting with party members from the Karhal Assembly constituency, Yadav urged his supporters to work diligently for a resounding win. “We are winning all nine seats in the by-election. The extension of the voting date doesn’t matter. We were set to win on the original date, and we will win even now,” he said.

He further accused the BJP of manipulating the election schedule, alleging that the ruling party postponed the election to avoid a diwali surge of voters ‘inclined to vote against the BJP’.

Akhilesh also criticised BJP leaders, referencing their controversial slogan “Batoge to katoge”, and contrasting it with the SP’s inclusive PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) strategy aimed at unifying marginalised communities. Taking a swipe at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav pointed out the delay in operationalising the 500-bed super-specialty hospital in Saifai, inaugurated by CM Yogi nine months ago. “There is not a single bed available there yet,” Yadav claimed, highlighting what he described as government inaction.