Ex-BJP MP Kashyap, BSP's Abid Ali Join Samajwadi Party
Lucknow, October 27: With the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections approaching, defections and shifting political equations are drawing sharp attention. On Tuesday, former BJP MP Dharmendra Kashyap of Aonla in Bareilly joined the Samajwadi Party, accompanied by his daughter Kirti Kashyap and supporters. Abid Ali of the Bahujan Samaj Party also joined the SP on the same occasion.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav formally inducted the new members. He called their entry a step that would strengthen the struggle for social justice.
Akhilesh noted that Aonla had seen intense competition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when Dharmendra Kashyap, Neeraj Maurya and Syed Abid Ali contested against each other on different party tickets. Now, he said, all three were together. He added that Kashyap had been keen to join the SP since the time he exited the BJP with a 'Tata-bye-bye'. Akhilesh assured that the party would provide him full political honour and an appropriate position.
Declaring confidence in the outcome, Akhilesh said that the BJP's defeat would be decided on the day the election dates were announced.
He charged the BJP with resorting to dishonesty and electoral hanky-panky out of fear of losing. Akhilesh also raised pointed questions about the Election Commission's conduct, the deletion of names from voter lists and the polling system. He said ballot papers which were not folded had been found inside ballot boxes at 97 booths in Lucknow. Questioning how this could happen, he suggested it indicated a big conspiracy. He further accused the BJP of getting votes removed under the pretext of the SIR process.
Akhilesh urged the Election Commission and the government to set right the voter lists of Uttar Pradesh and every other state where elections are scheduled. He backed linking voter identity with Aadhaar and a biometric system. Pointing out that biometric technology is used in ration distribution, he asked why it could not be used to ensure free and fair voting. He alleged that voters were easily added in BJP-friendly areas, while fewer machines were placed at booths considered SP strongholds, deliberately slowing the voting process.
Questioning the poll body's credibility, Akhilesh said the opposition would not need to keep a constant watch if the Election Commission worked fairly. He also referred to allegations about voter names being removed during the West Bengal elections and the 2022 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, asking what action had been taken against the officials responsible.
Akhilesh suggested that voter identity cards should be made of metal instead of paper. He claimed that if the SP forms the government in Uttar Pradesh, metal cards would be issued to the state's citizens.
In a pointed attack on political rivals, Akhilesh urged people to beware of 'prepaid parties'. He alleged that some parties were working at the behest of others and were acting as loudspeakers for them. He warned that once their strings were cut, their game would be over.
Attacking the BJP, the SP chief said the party had adopted a corporate method of winning elections. According to him, large political management companies claim to predetermine election results. Comparing the BJP's functioning with big corporate firms, he sarcastically said their slogan was, 'Jiska dana, uska gana', meaning the one who gives the grain sings the song.
Akhilesh concluded that the coming election was not just about capturing power but about saving democracy and the Constitution. He alleged that the BJP was afraid of the unity of PDA, that is, the backward, Dalit and minority communities.