Akhilesh Yadav dons Sikh turban in Lucknow, warns Nepal-like crisis over alleged vote theft

PTC News Desk: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav during a rally in Lucknow, donned a Sikh turban, demanding accountability from the election commission of India, amid opposition anxiety over alleged vote theft. 

Speaking at a press conference in Lucknow, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister warned that the country could witness a Nepal-like protest if the poll body fails to stop such practices.

"It's the Election Commission's responsibility to ensure that no vote is stolen anywhere," Akhilesh was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "Everyone knows that when they couldn't win elections through vote theft, they tried to stop the vote with the power of a revolver... If such incidents happen, it's possible that people here might take to the streets, just like what happened in our neighbouring countries."

While addressing the grievances of Sikh delegation and demands of the community, Akhilesh said  he would look into all these demands once Samajwadi Party formed the government in the state.

As Uttar Pradesh is gearing up for polls in 2027, Yadav during the press conference alleged vote theft in crucial state elections as Mirapur, Rampur and said when elections could not be rigged,  revolvers were taken out and force was used.

"We saw the Rampur election... they stole the election, then the Mirapur election. During the Ayodhya election, a man was caught who was a minister's assistant... just think about the Ayodhya election. People were brought there from outside. People were brought from Amethi as well," he alleged.