Won Ayodhya Despite EC; People’s Anger Spilling Out On Streets: SP MP Dharmendra Yadav

Last Updated:October 16, 2026, 19:31 IST

Dharmendra Yadav also took on UP Congress working president Imran Masood who had been attacking SP over the past few months

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav speaks in the Lok Sabha during the Special session of Parliament on April 16. (Image: PTI)

As protests against the Election Commission (EC) continue to rock the country, Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav has said that people’s anger is pouring out as people have realised how they are being disenfranchised.

“13 crore voters have been removed from voter lists throughout the country. In UP alone, almost 3 crore voters are affected. And now in UP, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is trying to bring back voters who supported them. The EC has become a puppet in the hands of BJP and democracy is being killed. People have realised their rights are being taken away and their anger is pouring onto the streets,” the SP MP told CNN-News18 in an exclusive conversation.

Dharmendra Yadav countered when asked how SP’s stellar performance in UP in 2024 Lok Sabha polls, including the win in Ayodhya, can be called legitimate if the entire election process is fraudulent?

“You pick up Lok Sabha recordings from oath ceremony and take note that I had stood up and protested when five BJP MPs took oath. I tried to put it on record that their election was a fraud committed on voter mandate. We had filed affidavits and raised objections in 2022 assembly polls but no response was given for three years. The EC is no longer a referee, it is a player. We won Ayodhya in spite of the ECI. If they had played fair, the BJP would not have formed the government…”

‘FOCUS ON THE REAL ENEMY’

Yadav also took on UP Congress working president Imran Masood who had been attacking SP over the past few months. Yadav advised friendly parties to direct their focus toward the principal opposition rather than speaking against the Samajwadi Party.

“I advise those from friendly parties who are speaking against Samajwadi Party to focus on defeating the BJP. That should be the end goal. The SP has never harmed anyone—look at our track record. So channelise your energy towards the right cause.”

Yadav dismissed speculation regarding a possible rift in the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh, firmly rejecting comparisons to past political fallouts in other states like Tamil Nadu. He assured party workers and voters that top leadership from both parties — Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi — will sit together to smoothly finalise seat-sharing arrangements.

‘LAW AND ORDER IMPROVEMENT A MYTH’

The SP MP claimed that price rise and unemployment were the real issues ahead of UP polls and the improvement in law and order was just an “image building exercise”. “The ‘aakrosh’ (anger) of people is what you see on the ground. You made so many promises about reducing prices, improving standards of living, and giving farmers a better support price. You had 10 years, and yet nothing has been fulfilled.”

Hitting out directly at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s governance model, Yadav debunked claims of improved law and order in the state, terming it a narrative manufactured through aggressive media management and taxpayer-funded public relations.

According to Yadav, official National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures directly contradict the government’s claims of state-wide safety and order. He specifically condemned the state’s reliance on “bulldozer justice,” alleging that punitive actions selectively target marginalised PDA (Pichda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) communities while offenders from the Chief Minister’s own community face no such action.

Refuting allegations that past SP governments harboured criminals, Yadav reiterated the necessity of upholding constitutional procedures rather than allowing the state machinery to bypass the legal framework. “There is a judicial process. Are you going to condone bypassing the judicial process and taking matters into your own hands?” Yadav said on the encounters of Atiq Ahmed and others.

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What did SP MP Dharmendra Yadav claim regarding voter lists and the Election Commission in Uttar Pradesh?

SP MP Dharmendra Yadav claimed that 13 crore voters have been removed from voter lists nationwide, with nearly 3 crore affected in Uttar Pradesh alone. He alleged that the Election Commission has become a puppet of the BJP, facilitating efforts to disenfranchise citizens and manipulate the electoral process.

How did Dharmendra Yadav respond to questions about the legitimacy of the SP’s win in Ayodhya during the 2024 polls?

Dharmendra Yadav asserted that the Samajwadi Party won Ayodhya in spite of the Election Commission rather than because of its fairness. He maintained that if the ECI had acted impartially, the BJP would not have been able to form the government.

What were the core criticisms raised by Dharmendra Yadav regarding the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh?

Dharmendra Yadav dismissed the UP government’s claims of improved law and order as a manufactured narrative driven by aggressive public relations. He specifically condemned the state’s use of ‘bulldozer justice,’ alleging that punitive actions selectively target marginalized communities while offenders from the ruling circles escape scrutiny.

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Arunima

Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from gr…Read More

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