Samajwadi Party demands repolling under supervision of paramilitary forces for four byelection seats

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav with party Secretary General Ram Gopal Yadav. File
| Photo Credit: ANI

The Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday (November 21, 2024) demanded re-elections in Meerapur, Kundarki, Katehari, and Sisamau Assembly segments, alleging that the administration had “crossed all limits” during the polling on November 20 in these constituencies. The SP further demanded that the repolling should be carried out only under the supervision of paramilitary forces.

“The byelections held in Uttar Pradesh yesterday were between the Samajwadi Party and the district officials and police officers of the respective areas, and not between the SP and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). The kind of atrocities the police did yesterday in the byelections, especially in Meerapur, Kundarki, Sisamau, and Kathari, is a warning bell for democracy. Excesses have happened everywhere but, in the above areas, the administration has crossed all limits of decorum. In Meerapur, Kundarki and Sisamau, Muslim voters were prevented from casting their votes at gunpoint. These elections should be cancelled and re-elections should be held under the supervision of paramilitary forces,” Ram Gopal Yadav, secretary general, SP, said. 

SP leaders added that discriminatory tactics aimed at preventing their party’s sympathisers from voting were even seen during the preparation for the elections. “Since the beginning of the bypoll election process, government employees hailing from Muslim and Yadav communities were removed. In the bypoll, the administration put pressure on local PDS (Public Distribution System) dealers, local leaders, village level representatives, and others, to support BJP candidates. Video evidence of illegal acts, and threatening by the police, are in the public domain. Hence, we demand repolling in these seats,” Javed Ali Khan, SP Rajya Sabha MP told The Hindu. 

Bypolls were held in nine Assembly seats, including Sisamau in Kanpur district, Katehri in Ambedkar Nagar, Kundarki in Moradabad, Ghaziabad in Ghaziabad district, Majhwan in Mirzapur, Karhal in Mainpuri, Khair in Aligarh, Phulpur in Prayagraj, and Meerapur in Muzaffarnagar district, on November 20.