‘Muslim-Yadav’ officials removed from field duty in Uttar Pradesh's bypolls-bound districts

Akhilesh Yadav said that by removing the officials from Muslim and Yadav communities from field duty in the by-poll bound districts, BJP had admitted that irregularities in the elections were committed by the officials in its government.

Lucknow: The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh came under attack from the opposition parties after reports surfaced that ‘’Muslim-Yadav’’ officials are being shunted out from duty in those districts where ten assembly seats are going to by-polls.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that by removing the officials from Muslim and Yadav communities from field duty in the by-poll bound districts, BJP has admitted irregularities in elections were committed by the officials in their government.

Akhilesh, who shared a media report which made the claim, said that the BJP would not be able to win a single seat in the by-polls as the people of the state had already made up their mind to defeat the saffron party.

The SP president also urged the Election Commission (EC) to take cognizance of the reports of removal of officials from Muslim and Yadav communities from the field duty.

BJP leaders, however, rejected the reports and said that transfers were a routine process and that merit was the only criteria for postings of officials.

Many senior leaders of the BJP, who could win only 33 seats in the state in the recent Lok Sabha elections, claimed that the officials belonging to the Muslim and Yadav communities had worked against the saffron party’s candidates at many places and had demanded their removal.

The state BJP, in its report submitted to the party’s central leadership, had also included the allegations leveled by the losing candidates and senior leaders in this regard.

Of the ten seats where by-polls would be held, five were held by the Samajwadi Party (SP), three by the BJP and one each by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) and Nishad Party, both alliance partners in the NDA.

Although the outcome of the assembly by-polls would have no effect on the BJP led government in the state, the saffron party, after its dismal performance in the state in the LS polls, would certainly go all out to regain its sitting seats and also wrest a few from the SP.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is under tremendous pressure to ensure that BJP fared well in the by-polls especially after coming under attack from his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya over what the latter alleged ignoring ordinary party workers.

One of the seats going to the by-poll was Milkipur, which was part of Faizabad LS constituency of which Ayodhya was also a part. Milkipur MLA and SP leader Awadhesh Prasad had emerged as a giant killer in the LS polls when he defeated BJP veteran Lallu Singh from Faizabad seat much to the shock of the saffron party.

By-poll would also be held on Mainpuri seat from where SP president Akhilesh Yadav had been elected in 2022 assembly polls. Akhilesh was elected from Kannauj LS seat in the LS poll.