New Delhi: SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday, after allegations were levelled by Samajwadi Party on the Milkipur bypoll, that this is the manner in which the BJP contests the elections and the Election Commission is "dead". "This is the manner in which BJP contests elections. Election Commission is dead. We will have to gift them white cloth," Akhilesh remarked. On Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the police were checking the ID cards of the voters. In a post on X, Yadav demanded action from the Election Commission to remove people involved in this. SP Chief Statement "The Election Commission should immediately take cognizance of the pictures related to this news that Ayodhya police is checking the ID cards of voters in Milkipur, in which senior police officers are also involved. This is a democratic crime of indirectly influencing voting by creating fear among voters. Such people should be removed immediately and punitive action should be taken," he said. Police Response However, Ayodhya Police responded to Samajwadi Party Chief's allegation and said that the id cards of booth agents were being checked, not of voters. It also asked the former CM to "not make false statements". In a post on X, Ayodhya police said that the police were checking the ID of a booth agent of a candidate, not of voters. "The above photo is of the booth agent's identity card, the person seen in the photo is a booth agent of a candidate which has been verified by seeing his identity card. Please do not make misleading tweets," they said. Ajit Prasad To Media Earlier, Samajwadi Party candidate for the Milkipur assembly byelections, Ajit Prasad, spoke to the media about the voting process and alleged interference by certain elements. He claimed, "The votes are in favour of the Samajwadi Party, but some mischievous elements are trying to influence the voters. The police here are also pressurising the voters to not vote for the Samajwadi Party, but the people of Milkipur are only voting for us." Prasad also raised concerns over his party's election agents being restricted access to polling booths, adding, "I am getting complaints that our agents are not being allowed to enter the polling booths." Meanwhile, the Milkipur assembly constituency recorded a turnout of 57.13 per cent in the byelection concluded on Wednesday. The counting of votes will take place on 8 February.
