Ballia voters will teach BJP a lesson for ‘cheating’ them: Akhilesh

VARANASI : Samajwadi Party (SP) national president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had deceived the people of Ballia. He said people’s enthusiasm in Ballia (in his rally) was an indication that “they will make those (BJP) who cheated them bite the dust in the ongoing UP assembly polls”. He also claimed that barring SP, no other political party would be able to open their account in Ballia this time.

Addressing a rally in Phephna in Ballia district, Akhilesh appealed to people to vote and support the candidates of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the

Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) alliance in the region. Ballia will go to polls to penultimate sixth phase of the assembly election on March 3.

Taking potshots at the BJP, the SP leader said, “Small BJP leaders tell a small lie and its big leaders tell big lie…the BJP people have deceived locals of Ballia so much that this election has become ‘Chhalia’ (cheat) vs Ballia.” He claimed that even BJP allies knew that BJP leaders were telling lies.

“”The people of Ballia have always given a new direction to politics. This is not an ordinary election. This is an election to save the Constitution and the democracy. I am happy that along with ‘Samajwadis’, ‘Ambedkarwadis’ are also involved in saving the democracy and the Constitution,” he said. He said the BJP had promised to double the income of farmers which, he alleged, was yet an unfulfilled promise.

Wooing voters, the SP chief promised that a medical college and a bypass would be built in Ballia if his party came to power in the state. Besides, speedy development of Ballia and Purvanchal region would also be ensured and it will lead to prosperity of farmers and jobs for the youth, he said. Ballia has seven assembly constituencies. In the 2017 polls, the BJP had won five seats while the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party had bagged one seat each.