Akhilesh Yadav slams UP bypolls as 'distorted electoral politics'

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed the Uttar Pradesh bypolls as the "most distorted form of electoral politics".

In a post on X in Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The tactics of those who have made 'election' synonymous with 'corruption' have been captured in photographs and exposed before the world," he said.

"The world, the country and Uttar Pradesh saw the most distorted form of electoral politics in this by-election. There may be a time for lies but not an era," he said in his post.

"Now the real struggle has begun. Tighten your fist and make the PDA proclaim 'If we join, we will win!'," Akhilesh Yadav said in his post.

According to the Election Commission, the Samajwadi Party candidate Naseem Solanki from Sishamau won the seat by a margin of 8,564 votes. She defeated BJP's Suresh Awasthi.

Solanki's husband Irfan Solanki won the seat in 2012, 2017 and 2022.

The bypolls held on Wednesday were necessitated due to Irfan Solanki's disqualification from the Assembly following his conviction in a criminal case.

In Karhal, Tej Pratap Singh of the SP defeated BJP's Anujesh Pratap Singh by a margin of 14,725 votes.

The Karhal assembly seat was vacated by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav after winning the Lok Sabha election from Kannauj.

In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, the BJP won Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair seats and the SP secured Sisamau, Katehari, Karhal and Kundarki.

The RLD, which was an SP ally then, won the Meerapur seat. The party has since switched sides and is now part of the BJP-led NDA.

The Congress did not contest the bypolls and extended support to the SP, its INDIA bloc ally.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) contested all nine seats and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) fielded candidates from Ghaziabad, Kundarki and Meerapur.

The Aazad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram), led by Chandrashekhar Aazad, also contested all seats except Sisamau.

In the current assembly, the BJP has 251 MLAs and the SP 105.

BJP allies, such as Apna Dal (Sonelal), RLD, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party and NISHAD Party, also have members in the House. The Congress and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik hold two seats each and the BSP holds one seat.