Murder of democracy under BJP rule, says Akhilesh Yadav on Uttar Pradesh bypoll results

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday alleged "murder of democracy" under the BJP rule after the saffron party won the Rampur and Azamgarh Lok Sabha seats.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh wrested the seats considered the bastions of the opposition Samajwadi Party.

"The chronology of 'murder of democracy' in BJP rule: conspiracy to reject nominations, suppress candidates, misuse machinery to prevent (voters from) voting, irregularities in counting, pressure on public representatives and toppling of elected governments. This is the bitter truth about 'Azadi ke Amrit Kaal'," Yadav said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

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"This victory of the BJP is the victory of dishonesty, deceit, disregard for democracy and constitution, coercion, hooliganism by the administration, the 'Dhritarashtra' vision of the Election Commission, and hijacking of the public mandate by BJP's 'Kaurav' army. Democracy is bleeding and the public mandate lost," he said.

BJP's Ghanshyam Lodhi on Sunday defeated Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Mohd Asim Raja by a comfortable margin of 42,192 votes in the direct contest in Rampur, a seat vacated by SP stalwart Azam Khan after being elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

In the Azamgarh Lok Sabha constituency, a seat previously held by Akhilesh Yadav, BJP's Dinesh Lal Yadav 'Nirahua' defeated SP candidate Dharmendra Yadav by a margin of 8,679 votes.