New Delhi, May 15 : Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati, despite their ongoing conflict, have joined forces to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for their poor performance in the municipal elections.
Following their defeat, Akhilesh Yadav criticized the BJP, stating that their attempts to influence the elections had failed. He highlighted the BJP’s humiliating defeat in elections for posts other than mayors and corporators.
The SP also accused the BJP of being involved in the slow pace of vote counting in Mainpuri and several other places. They expressed uncertainty whether the delay was due to technical issues or deliberate obstruction.
Akhilesh Yadav further alleged that the BJP engaged in tactics to manipulate the counting process and secure victory. He cited an instance where the total number of votes counted exceeded the total number of votes cast.
Meanwhile, Mayawati claimed that the elections were not conducted fairly. The BSP failed to win a single mayoral seat out of the 17 contested, losing two seats they had previously won in the 2017 local urban polls. In contrast, the BJP secured victory in all mayoral seats across the state.
The BSP had fielded 11 Muslim candidates and relied on experienced party members for the remaining seats, but their strategy did not yield the desired results.
Mayawati criticized the BJP-led government for allegedly misusing official resources and rigging the elections. She stated that the outcome would have been different if the elections were conducted fairly, suggesting that the BSP would have also won a mayoral seat if a ballot paper system had been used. She vowed that her party would respond strongly to the BJP’s actions at the appropriate time.
Mayawati further highlighted that both the BJP and SP employ similar tactics to secure victories in local elections.
