UP Zila Panchayat chairpersons election: BJP used 'force', 'kidnapped' voters, alleges Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: After the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) registered an emphatic win at elections to posts of Zila panchayat chairpersons, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the saffron party of making a mockery and claimed that it "kidnapped" and used "force" on voters to prevent them from polling. 

The BJP made a mockery of all democratic norms, something not seen earlier, he alleged. The ruling BJP has claimed that the party-backed candidates emerged victorious on 67 of the 75 seats, the elections for which were held on Saturday.

"To convert its defeat into victory, the BJP got the voters kidnapped, used force with the help of police and administration to stop them from voting," the SP chief alleged in a party release.

The former UP CM called it strange that while most results in the elections for the zila panchayat members were in favour of the Samajwadi Party, the BJP gained in the polls for the district panchayat chief. The complicity of officials has also come to the fore, he alleged.

The SP chief said despite submitting a memorandum to the state Election Commissioner, no action was taken and alleged that the dictatorship of the ruling party was clearly visible. Samajwadi Party workers and women were subjected to indecency when they protested, further, he alleged.

Democracy will be restored only after the formation of the Samajwadi Party government and only then justice will be done, he added.

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