Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday claimed that the Election Commission of India could undertake another review of electoral rolls in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Assembly elections and urged his party workers to remain vigilant.
According to a PTI report, Speaking to reporters at the SP office in Lucknow during an event where leaders from other parties joined the organisation, Yadav said the party was working to ensure that votes were not "diluted" during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"The Election Commission of India might conspire to conduct another review before the election. We need to be vigilant about this," he said.
Yadav said the BJP had initially wanted the Assembly elections to be held early, but its internal surveys now indicated that the polls would take place as scheduled.
He also alleged that the Election Commission had sidelined the state police during the West Bengal elections and claimed that a similar situation could arise in Uttar Pradesh.
Yadav said honest officers who had been sidelined for nearly a decade were waiting for an opportunity, while those who had committed "injustices" were attempting to evade action by citing ill health.
Taking a swipe at the BJP over a recent meeting between Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on measures to curb air pollution, the SP chief said the ruling party should first worry about its own political condition.
"I heard there was a meeting regarding the environment to keep the air around Delhi clean. When the BJP is in such a poor state ('jab BJP ke khud ki hawa kharaab hai'), they hold a meeting to discuss how to purify the air?" he said.
Yadav accused the BJP of using government schemes to benefit itself and alleged that the party had amassed wealth during its decade in power.
Referring to demonetisation, he said the move had been presented as a measure to eliminate corruption, control inflation and curb terrorism, but claimed corruption had instead increased.
"There has never been as much loot and corruption under any other government as it is under the BJP government. And now, in the final phase of the party being in power, they have started amassing wealth, trying to rake in whatever they can before they leave office," Yadav said.
He also accused the BJP of spending thousands of crores over the past decade on negative publicity against political opponents.
Yadav further criticised the government over unemployment, investment claims and the blending of ethanol with petrol, alleging that the latter affected vehicle mileage.
"There are no jobs, and investments exist only on paper. They are presenting false figures," he said.
Mocking government advertisements on employment, Yadav said he had seen one so extensive that it appeared, "if you do the math", there was no one left unemployed in Uttar Pradesh.
The SP chief also referred to the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) recent visit to a library in Noida, claiming that it had neither books nor windows and lacked benches.
"It is just a library in name only. You won't find a library anywhere in the entire state without books. What do you expect from the chief minister?" he said.
The CJP had on Tuesday inspected a government primary school in Noida as part of its "School Thik Karo" campaign and highlighted alleged problems with toilet maintenance and other facilities. The district administration subsequently denied that schools had been closed following the inspection.
Yadav also raised the recent attack on SP Lok Sabha MP Pappu Nishad, alleging that his vehicle was damaged and that he was humiliated.
He accused the BJP government of practising discrimination based on caste and said members of the PDA -- the SP's social coalition of backward, Dalit and minority communities -- were subjected to pressure, intimidation, threats and false cases.
On the coming elections, Yadav said the SP would have to fight both on the ground and on digital platforms.
"We must fight both on the ground and on digital platforms as the battle will take place on both fronts," he said, while stressing the need for party workers to produce content that would keep the organisation motivated.
A video made by SP workers criticising the ruling party was also screened during the press conference, PTI reported.
Asked about the SP's role in the Delhi University Students' Union elections, Yadav questioned why student union elections were not being held in Uttar Pradesh if polls could be conducted at Delhi University, where the BJP is in power.
"If elections can be held at Delhi University, where the BJP is in power, then why aren't student union elections taking place in Uttar Pradesh?" he asked.
Several leaders, including Mayank Dwivedi, son of former Banda MLA Purushottam Naresh Dwivedi, Nand Kishore Giri from Shravasti and Junaid from Kanpur Dehat, joined the SP along with their supporters.
(With inputs from PTI)