Taking a swipe at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav's recent statement pertaining to the use of ballot paper in the Phulpur and Gorakhpur parliamentary bypolls, the BJP said today that repeated losses at the hustings had dented the morale of the former chief minister.
In an statement released here, UP BJP spokesman Rakesh Tripathi said, "SP chief Akhilesh Yadav's confidence has been severely dented by the repeated electoral losses suffered by his party in different elections. Hence, anticipating a possible loss in the bypolls for Gorakhpur and Phulpur parliamentary constituencies, Yadav has started crying foul over EVMs (in advance)."
He added that holding the EVMs responsible for the electoral defeats showed Yadav's immaturity.
Tripathi said that "tech-friendly" Akhilesh raising questions on the EVMs, showed his frustration.
"Days of casteist-communal politics practised by SP have gone. The public wants development," Tripathi said, and exuded confidence that BJP will improve its winning margin in the Lok Sabha bypolls.
Yesterday, Yadav had demanded that the bye-elections to Phulpur and Gorakhpur be held through ballot paper. He said that he would hold meetings with opposition party leaders in the second week of January in this regard.
Yadav claimed that due to the EVMs, there was an erosion of trust. "There have been a number of complaints pertaining to faulty EVMs. This is not a good sign for democracy," he said.
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