Elated at the victory of Opposition candidates in Kairana and Noorpur bypolls, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said that the bypoll results were ‘a victory of democracy and defeat of divisive forces’.
“It is a rehearsal of what one can expect in the 2019 lok sabha elections. The picture is now clear. United we can defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party. This was proved true in Gorakhpur and Noorpur and has been reiterated in this bypoll,” Yadav said in lucknow on Thursday.
The SP chief said that the victory of opposition candidates both at Noorpur and Kairana, has proved that the people do not like divisive politics anymore.
Addressing media persons in lucknow to celebrate the bypoll wins flanked by senior SP leaders, Akhilesh thanked the voters of Kairana and Noorpur and congratulated the parties who supported the RlD and SP candidates against the BJP.
“This is a defeat for those who do not believe in democracy. Those who tried to divide the society on religious and caste lines were forced to bite the dust. People have given a befitting reply to the BJP,” he added.
“Jo khel woh (BJP) humaare saath khelte the, wahi khel, humne seekha hai unse. Yeh kaha gaya ki kisaanon ka karz maaf hoga, par hua kya IJ Balki kisaanon ki jaan chali gayi. Yeh bahot bada dhokha hai (We have used the strategy, which BJP used against us in the past. Have the farmers got benefit of loan waiver. Instead, they committed suicide. It is a betrayal),” the SP chief alleged.
However, Akhilesh reiterated his demand for the use of ballot papers in future polls. “Even after this win, my party demands the revival of the old system of ballot papers for elections. The ruling party tried to influence the pollss through EVMs. Had this been contested on ballot papers, the victory margin would have been massive,” he said.
When asked why did he not campaign in Kairana and Noorpur, Akhiesh jocularly said that he became scared with the speech of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and hence skipped campaigning there.
“I preferred to stay in lucknow as CM sahib was blaming me and my regime for everything that had happened there,” he said.
In Kairana, RlD candidate Tabassum Hasan, who had joined the party just before the bypoll leaving the SP, romped home, while in Noorpur, SP candidate Naimul Hasan defeated the BJP.