'Old Trick': Akhilesh Yadav Targets BJP After UP Bypolls Rescheduled

Lucknow: As the Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine seats in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that this is an old trick of the BJP to avoid losing elections.

"First the Milkipur bye-election was postponed, now the date of bye-elections for the rest of the seats has been rescheduled. The BJP was never so weak," he said in a post in Hindi on X. Yadav further said that if they (BJP) postpone it, they will lose even worse.

टालेंगे तो और भी बुरा हारेंगे!

पहले मिल्कीपुर का उपचुनाव टाला, अब बाक़ी सीटों के उपचुनाव की तारीख़, भाजपा इतनी कमजोर कभी न थी।

दरअसल बात ये है कि उप्र में ‘महा-बेरोज़गारी’ की वजह से जो लोग पूरे देश में काम-रोज़गार के लिए जाते हैं, वो दिवाली और छठ की छुट्टी लेकर उप्र आए हुए…

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) November 4, 2024

"The fact is that due to 'maha berozgari' (unemployment) in UP, people who go to different parts of the country for work have come to UP on Diwali and Chhath holidays. They were going to vote in the by-elections to defeat the BJP."As soon as the BJP understood this, it postponed the by-elections, so that people's holidays end and they go back without casting their vote," the former chief minister said, adding that this is BJP's old trick.

The Election Commission rescheduled assembly bye-elections to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala from November 13 to November 20 in view of festivals. Parties including the Congress, BJP, BSP and RLD had urged the poll body to reschedule the polls in view of various festivals, saying that it could impact voter turnout.

The BJP, BSP and RLD had said that in UP, people travel for three-four days ahead of Kartik Purnima, which will be celebrated on November 15.When asked about the SP chief's allegations, state BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla said, "The bypoll date shift was demanded as the date coincided with Hindu festival. But Samajwadi Party has to do politics in everything. More so in this case as they are least bothered about majoritarian sentiment but about their vote bank."

In UP, the nine assembly seats going to polls include Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur City), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad).

Eight of these seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as Lok Sabha MPs, while bypoll is being held on the Sisamau seat due to the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who was convicted in a criminal case.

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