Strong response from Akhilesh Yadav when a BJP ally verified cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls

Lucknow: Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party, criticized his party’s officials on Tuesday for supposedly casting cross-party votes in favor of the Bharatiya Janata Party during the Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that not “everyone has the guts to stand against the government.”

The Samajwadi Party chief whip Manoj Kumar Pandey’s resignation before of the polls, which stoked rumors of cross-voting, prompted the response hours later.

“Not everybody has the guts to stand against the government…pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn’t know that BJP would go to any extent to win,” Yadav said.

Yadav said that such leaders would face consequences.

“The Chandigarh elections also saw dishonesty from the BJP… In UP, the BJP went all out to win over voters, and those who abstained may not have had the courage to oppose the ruling party. Our party leaders want such individuals to be kept out of the party, thus action will be done,” he said.

The BJP supports cross-voting.

Samajwadi Party ally OP Rajbhar, however, has indicated that cross-voting would take place.

“The eight BJP candidates will prevail. The BJP has the backing of all our allies, including Raja Bhaiya. Leaders of the Samajwadi Party have publicly agreed to support the BJP. Cross-voting by the Samajwadi Party is planned. There will be cross-voting, and they will fully back the NDA,” he said.

Taking a jab at the Samajwadi Party, BJP leader Sidharth Nath Singh said that it was unable to maintain order in its own home.

“There is no question that all eight of the candidates would go to Delhi. The fearful have said that their leaders had been taken by the BJP. This implies that they were unable to protect their home. Before criticizing others, the Samajwadi Party need to examine its own home,” he said.

Eschewing Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting were eight SP MLAs.
On Monday night, Akhilesh Yadav’s meeting was missed by eight leaders of the SP. Yadav had said that anybody looking to take advantage of the circumstances “will go” when questioned about the snub earlier today.

Rakesh Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Mukesh Verma, Maharaji Prajapati, Pooja Pal, Rakesh Pratap Singh, and Abhay Singh were among the seven MLAs who did not attend the meeting in addition to Pandey.

For the ten Rajya Sabha seats up for election, the opposition Samajwadi Party has nominated three candidates, while the BJP has put up eight.

Dayashankar Singh, a minister in Uttar Pradesh, remarked on Pandey’s resignation, saying he has always adhered to the Sanatan Dharma.

“He has consistently made claims about the same. He wished for everyone to attend and get a darshan in Ayodhya. For this reason, he is making this choice and demonstrating his trust in PM Modi’s leadership,” he said.

KP Maurya, the deputy chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, predicted that the BJP will win eight seats.