We lost elections because of senior leaders, EVMs: Samajwadi Party spokesperson

Lucknow: Some leaders of the Samajawadi Party on Thursday attributed the opposition of official candidates by few senior members and the electronic voting machines for the party's poll debacle and its weakening.

In a meeting here, they said that the party was weakened because of the problems in the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the senior leaders opposing the authorised party nominees in the elections, Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary said.

The meeting was chaired by SP chief Akhilesh Yadav but patron Mulayam Singh Yadav and his brother and senior leader Shivpal Yadav gave it a miss.

Mulayam, who was unseated as party president, and Shivpal as state SP chief, by Akhilesh just before the elections, used to attend such meetings earlier.

Chaudhary also said that the leaders demanded that the next Lok Sabha polls must be held through ballot papers and the complaints against the EVMs be probed.

The leaders, during the meeting, moved a resolution against some senior party leaders talking about floating a new party, terming it an attempt by them to spread indiscipline, he said, adding that strict action should be taken against those who worked against the party.

Senior party leader and uncle of Akhilesh, Shivpal Singh Yadav had declared that he would float a new party after the assembly elections were over.
Recently, in his first address in Mainpuri after the UP assembly results in which the SP got only 47 seats out 403, Mulayam had also said that "a decision on floating a new party was yet to be taken."

Akhilesh, while addressing the meet, termed communal polarisation as a bane for democracy and cautioned the BJP of being arrogance "as the wheel of time keeps changing".

"Communal polarisation is a bane for democracy. There is no place for discrimination in the socialist movement which stands for secularism. The BJP need not misuse power. Arrogance is not good, as in democracy, the wheels of time keeps changing," he said told the party leaders' meet which was chaired by UP SP chief Naresh Uttam.

"The BJP which talks about corruption, broke all limits of the expenditure in the elections. It is continuously betraying people. They will have to give a reply on the law and order issue as there has been a rise in the incidents of loot, rape and murder. The Centre will also have to give an account of the development work," he said.

Asking party cadre to remain prepared for struggle against the BJP's anti-people decision, he said "The BJP has got power through rumour mongering and propaganda and we will have to face it and remain prepared for struggle against their such decisions."

Akhilesh asked the partymen not to get disheartened by the election results and said that the party will have to once again go to the people.

Saying that the party will contest the coming urban bodies elections, he said the next target is Lok Sabha polls in 2019.