Taking a swipe at the BJP over its performance in the Varanasi region, Yadav said, “Those who kept talking about a double engine and multiple engines have been given a double zero by the voters of Varanasi this time.”
The BJP won six of the 11 MLC seats, while the SP secured five — two more than it had won in 2020. Polling was held on October 23. The SP won three graduates’ constituencies — Allahabad-Jhansi, Lucknow and Varanasi — and two teachers’ constituencies, Varanasi and Agra.
Yadav alleged that the BJP had won its six seats through manipulation, while the SP’s victories reflected public support.
“SP leaders and workers have won with the strength of the people, while the BJP has won its six seats through deceit. Had it not resorted to such tactics, it might not have won even six seats,” he said.
Claiming that the BJP had suffered a wider setback than the five seats it lost, Yadav said, “They may have lost only five seats, but they have lost in 50 cities and 50 districts.”
He said the results were only the beginning of the SP’s efforts to strengthen the PDA — a political grouping of backward classes, Dalits and minorities — and pledged to continue the fight for social justice and democracy.
Yadav also invoked former US President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, saying, “‘Government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth’. Our party workers have fought for democracy and shown it in this election. We will continue this fight and strengthen democracy, save the voice of the people.”
He further took a swipe at Adityanath, saying the chief minister would now have to decide whether to travel by expressway or book a seat on a train. Yadav dubbed the BJP’s performance a “flop show”.
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