UP MLC polls: SP leaders accuse officials of favouring BJP candidate as SP candidate boycotts counting

Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 28 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate Sanjayan Tripathi and independent candidate Rajeev Yadav boycotted the vote-counting process in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council (MLC) elections in Gorakhpur, alleging irregularities and accusing administrative officials and the election observer of favouring the BJP candidate.
Tripathi alleged that the counting trend changed abruptly after the first three rounds, when independent candidate Rajeev Yadav was leading by approximately 450 votes. He claimed that the subsequent trend appeared to favour the BJP candidate, prompting them to boycott the counting process.

Speaking to ANI, Tripathi said, "We have boycotted the vote-counting process. Everything was proceeding smoothly for the first three rounds of counting; independent candidate Rajiv Yadav was leading by approximately 450 votes. Suddenly, the counting began to shift entirely in favour of the BJP candidate; the trend changed abruptly, making it appear as though the outcome had been predetermined. Consequently, we decided to boycott the process. The police were engaging in misconduct, and it was clear they were determined to ensure the ruling party's candidate won, effectively murdering democracy in the process."
Meanwhile, SP candidate Danish Akhtar, reacting to the results in the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers' constituency, alleged irregularities in the preparation of electoral rolls and the voting process, questioning the role of the Election Commission.
Speaking to ANI, Akhtar said, "The results for the Bareilly-Moradabad Teachers' constituency indicate that it was not the BJP that won, but rather the Election Commission, because, from start to finish, from the preparation of the electoral rolls to the voting process, the Election Commission facilitated rigging while the vote counting itself may have been conducted impartially. 30% of the names on the electoral roll are fraudulent. I provided evidence of this and wrote to the Election Commission multiple times, yet no action was taken."
Akhtar alleged that 30 per cent of the names on the electoral roll were fraudulent and claimed that he had submitted evidence and written to the Election Commission multiple times, but no action was taken.
Voting for key Legislative Council (MLC) constituencies—including the Allahabad-Jhansi Division Graduates' and Gorakhpur-Faizabad Division Teachers' seats—concluded peacefully on October 23 under multi-tier security arrangements, whereas vote counting took place on October 27.
In Uttar Pradesh, polling was held for five Graduates' constituencies, Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut and Allahabad-Jhansi — and six Teachers' constituencies — Lucknow, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Bareilly-Moradabad and Gorakhpur-Faizabad. (ANI)