Nearly a month after Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the Election Commission of manipulating the Uttar Pradesh election, the poll body on Thursday (October 27), issued a notice asking him to “submit documentary proof” to substantiate his allegations. Yadav had claimed that the poll body deliberately deleted the names of nearly 20,000 voters from Yadav and Muslim communities ahead of the election in Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.
Election Commission asks SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to submit proof to substantiate his allegation made at public fora that ECI deliberately deleted names of voters from Yadav& Muslim communities to tune of 20,000 in almost all UP Assembly constituencies, at BJP’s behest
— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2022
(File pic) pic.twitter.com/jMIULkgQSc
Since the allegations meted out by the SP chief are exceedingly serious in nature and have far-reaching ramifications for the integrity of the election process, the poll body has asked him to furnish documentary evidence to substantiate his claims.
The constitutional body has asked the SP chief to furnish the proof by November 10, 2022, so that necessary action can be taken in the matter. The poll body has also asked the SP leader to submit a report on Assembly-wise data of deletions to strengthen his claims.
The poll panel noted that the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Representation of People Act, 1951 envisage various provisions aimed at ensuring the purity of electoral registration, revision and final roll, as well as provisions for penalties and criminal liabilities for undue interference, including false declaration knowingly and promoting enmity between classes.
Akhilesh Yadav made the sensational claim last month at the Samajwadi Party’s national convention on September 29 to explain the party’s defeat in the 2022 elections. The SP supremo had alleged that the Election Commission deliberately deleted the names of 20,000 voters from the Yadav and Muslim communities from almost all 403 assembly constituencies at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Uttar Pradesh elections in February-March this year.
The party or its leader Akhilesh Yadav, however, did not lodge any formal complaint with the Election Commission over the allegations.
It may be recalled that Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, who had lost heavily to the BJP in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, winning just 47 seats to its rival’s 312, had started crying foul as soon as the exit polls projected a BJP clean sweep of the UP assembly polls.
Akhilesh Yadav and other opposition parties party leaders raise EVM bogey as exit polls suggest BJP clean sweeping UP assembly polls
On March 9, as soon as the exit polls had shown Bharatiya Janata Party winning the UP elections comfortably, the leaders of the opposition parties, including Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav began raising their usual EVM bogey to hide their inability to win elections.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had said, “Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it. We need to be alert if EVMs are being transported this way. This is theft. We need to save our votes. We may go to court against it but before that, I want to appeal to people to save the democracy.”
Samajwadi Chief Akhilesh Yadav alleges, “Varanasi DM is transporting EVMs without giving any information to local candidates. EC should look into it.” pic.twitter.com/CUmRPijB1j
— ANI (@ANI) March 8, 2022
Yadav further stated that when the Samajwadi Party candidate was leading, the counting of votes was stopped or slowed in numerous places across the state, and results in favour of the BJP candidate were declared each time. This, he alleged, was done on the direct order of senior officials in the office of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
