UP bypolls deferment: Cong, SP raise question on EC's credibility; BJP welcomes move

Opposition parties in Uttar Pradesh Monday slammed the decision of deferring of bypolls with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleging the postponement was an old trick of the BJP to avoid losing elections.

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"First the Milkipur bye-election was postponed, now the date of bye-elections for the rest of the seats has been rescheduled. The BJP was never so weak," he said in a post in Hindi on X.

Yadav further said that if they (BJP) postpone it, they will lose even worse.

"The fact is that due to 'maha berozgari' (unemployment) in UP, people who go to different parts of the country for work have come to UP on Diwali and Chhath holidays. They were going to vote in the by-elections to defeat the BJP.

"As soon as the BJP understood this, it postponed the by-elections, so that people's holidays end and they go back without casting their vote," the former chief minister said.