The Samajwadi Party (SP) has demanded repolling in the Rampur Assembly seat in Uttar Pradesh, alleging that the administration had prevented party supporters and a large section of voters from reaching booths on the day of election.
“Our national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav has submitted an application for repolling in Rampur. Many other complaints in relation to malpractices during the December 5 polling is also with the Election Commission,” senior SP leader Udayveer Singh told The Hindu.
In the bypoll, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Akash Saxena defeated SP nominee Asim Raja by a margin of over 33,000 votes. In the seat comprising roughly 50 per cent Muslim electorate, Mr. Saxena polled 81,432 votes while Mr. Raja got 47,296 votes. Rampur witnessed a turnout of merely 33 per cent.
The Election Commission and the district administration have denied the charges levelled by the SP and reiterated that the byelections were free and fair.
SP president Akhilesh Yadav has also demanded repolling in Rampur. The high-profile constituency was considered a citadel of the principal Opposition party’s Muslim face Azam Khan, who represented the seat for a record 10 times and Mr. Raja is considered close to him. The bypoll was necessitated due to Mr. Khan’s conviction in a 2019 hate speech case. The bypolls to the Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency and the Khatauli Assembly seat were held on December 5. The SP alliance won both Mainpuri and Khatauli.
