Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | BJP objects to Akhilesh's remarks, asks EC to take strict action against attempts to spread anarchy on counting day

Lucknow: Expressing apprehensions that the Samajwadi Party may spread "anarchy" on Tuesday when the counting of votes in Lok Sabha polls takes place, a high-level delegation of the BJP met Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa and urged him to take strict action against any such attempts.

The delegation, which included deputy chief ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, cabinet minister Swatantra Dev Singh and UP BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary, drew the election body's attention to the remarks by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and submitted a memorandum on Monday evening.

"The SP workers are getting agitated by the things said in the press conference of the SP chief and are preparing to spread anarchy," the BJP said in a statement about the meeting.

The delegation requested the Election Commission to take cognisance of these facts and give strict instructions to stop workers of the opposition party from gathering "with the aim of creating anarchy and riots during the counting of votes" and to conduct the counting peacefully.

The submission of the memorandum by the BJP came barely a few hours before the commencement of the counting of votes in the Lok Sabha elections.

Elaborating about the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya told PTI, "The Samajwadi Party is continuously trying to start riots in the state during the counting of votes, be it through the press or you see their social media posts on 'X'. They do not want peaceful counting of votes."

"The way they want 'upadrav' (disturbance) in their meetings, they want to disturbance the counting process as well," Maurya said.

He added that "when we received such information, we met the (Election) Commission, and demanded that immediate action should be initiated in this regard, and peaceful and unbiased counting of votes take place." The deputy chief minister also alleged that the SP was threatening the members of the public and officials.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Monday invoked Mahatma Gandhi's "do or die" call and said the youth are ready to sacrifice themselves for a "new freedom movement".

"That is why the public, remembering Mahatma Gandhi's 'do or die' call, is now agitated and ready to fight a new freedom movement to save their own and the country's future. People are ready to sacrifice their lives like freedom fighters and youths are tying 'kafan' (shroud) over their heads and saying 'Mera Rang De Basanti Chola'," Yadav said in Hindi .

At a press conference, Yadav questioned the veracity of the exit polls which have predicted a comfortable victory for the BJP-led NDA and claimed that the agencies conducting them were only trying to create a conducive atmosphere in favour of the BJP.

"They (exit polls agencies) are making a 'mahaul' (conducive atmosphere) in the BJP's favour," he said.

"They (BJP) want to threaten the opposition. This has been their politics since the beginning... But this time, people are ready. Our youths and all sections of society are ready to protect the votes cast by them," Yadav said.

Counting of votes in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh will commence at 81 counting centres in 75 districts of the state on Tuesday morning.

A total of 851 candidates -- 771 men and 80 women -- were in the fray in the elections in Uttar Pradesh, with the maximum of 28 in the Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency and the minimum of four in Kaiserganj, Rinwa said.

Several high-profile candidates like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Smriti Irani as well as opposition leaders Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav.

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