People barred from voting in byelections in Mainpuri and Rampur: SP chairman Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Monday that the police and administration barred people from voting in the bypolls in the Mainpuri parliamentary and Rampur Sadar assembly constituencies.
On Monday, voters in Uttar Pradesh cast ballots for the assembly constituencies of Rampur Sadar and Khatauli, as well as the parliamentary seat of Mainpuri.
The death of Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Mulayam Singh Yadav sparked the Mainpuri byelection.
“How has the police force been briefed?” They’ve been ordered to keep people from voting in Mainpuri. The authorities also blocked people from voting in Rampur (Sadar). “”Every trick in the book is being employed to discourage people from coming out,” Akhilesh Yadav told reporters in Mainpuri.
He went on to say that the Election Commission of India was dismissing concerns and “turning a blind eye.”
“They (the Election Commission of India) follow whatever instructions they receive from the government.”
Akhilesh Yadav stated regarding the seat, “‘Netaji’ is responsible for all of the growth in Mainpuri (Mulayam Singh). People are remembering him and supporting us. The (winning) margin is wide here “He stated.
Akhilesh Yadav also claimed that the Mainpuri district magistrate was not returning phone calls.
“How can an officer do this when there is a byelection?” he wondered.
Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s wife, is running against Raghuraj Singh Shakya of the BJP in Mainpuri.
The BJP is facing up against the SP-Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) coalition in Uttar Pradesh. The BSP and the Congress are not running in the byelections.
Later that day, Akhilesh Yadav, his wife Dimple Yadav, and his uncle Shivpal Yadav were spotted sitting together at their Etawah district residence of Saifai.
The SP president expressed confidence that the SP will win the byelections, saying, “The party is on track to win in Mainpuri. However, the administration is attempting to demoralise the public and SP employees. All tricks are being employed.”
In response to a query on a BJP team visiting the Election Commission, he stated, “If the BJP representatives are coming to the Election Commission, they should at least inform the Commission about what is going on in Rampur. The SP candidate (Asim Raza Khan) had to sit in on a demonstration last night (Sunday), and people are not permitted to leave their homes. In a democracy, what kind of curfew is this?”
The Election Commission maintains a campaign pushing citizens to vote in big numbers, but this is the first time the government has attempted to block ballots from being cast, according to him.
“The memorandum filed by the BJP to the Election Commission is a smokescreen to conceal their failings and the plot they devised. I’m hoping that the ECI (Elections Commission of India) would show them the (real) image of Rampur, Khatauli, and Mainpuri “He stated.
He also claimed that decisions in the BJP were made on the basis of caste, and that no section of the population benefited significantly from any government scheme.
The BJP claims that it would bring Ram Rajya. They must first imbue themselves with the ‘aachran’ (behaviour) of Ram rajya. When a person’s behaviour is terrible and he lacks’maryaadaa’ (dignity), how would he bring Ram rajya? The DM (district magistrate) and SP (superintendent of police) have been instructed to file fake cases against SP employees. In a democracy, what kind of dignity is this?”
“No one is a bigger liar than the BJP, and the day people believe the BJP speaks lies, democracy will take a new turn,” Akhilesh Yadav said.
Dimple Yadav, an SP candidate, stated, “We would want to appeal to the ECI so that the undemocratic and unconstitutional activities taking on in this area, as well as similar trickery, are not repeated in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. I believe the ECI should take note and take proper action.”
When questioned if a drone flew above Mainpuri, Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president Shivpal Singh Yadav responded, “I watched the drone for two days, then filed a complaint, and the drone left. The drone should be dispatched to border locations where it may help secure the country.”
“We have asked voters of practically every site openly if someone had stopped them from casting their votes,” Etawah district magistrate Avanish Rai told reporters. And we have discovered no such cases.”