Akhilesh Yadav says BJP patting itself on back over mayoral elections win but mum on defeat in nagar panchayat polls

Etah (Uttar Pradesh): Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday accused the BJP of “spreading lies” and said the party was patting itself for its win in Uttar Pradesh’s mayoral elections, but was mum on their defeat in nagar palika and nagar panchayat polls.

“BJP is a ‘jhoot parosne waali party’ (one which indulges in serving lies). It won 14 out of 16 mayoral seats in Uttar Pradesh due to electronic voting machines (EVMs). But it is not discussing its defeats in nagar palika and nagar parishad elections,” he said.

Akhilesh, who was in Etah to attend a wedding, said, “If countries more developed than India can use ballot papers for voting, what is the problem in India? The Election Commission must clarify how it could repair a faulty EVM. When a faulty EVM can be repaired, a properly functioning EVM can be tampered with”.

The opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party, Congress, AAP and others have accused the BJP of tampering with the EVMs, and have rooted for an alternative way of casting votes.