Yogi Adityanath says BJP lost UP bypolls as he was not allowed to campaign

New Delhi: Reacting sharply over his party's poor performance in Uttar Pradesh, BJP leader Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday said that one of the reasons of this loss is that 'he was not allowed to campaign everywhere in the state'.

“I haven't seen the results but results are dependent on a lot of factors, I wasn't allowed to campaign on all seats,” Adityanath said.

Further blaming the candidate selection and the party's strategy in the state, the Gorakhpur MP said, "BJP's UP campaign strategy was flawed."  

Last week, the EC had issued a show cause notice to the BJP MP for violating the model code of conduct by making allegedly inflammatory remarks while campaigning for Assembly bypolls in Noida.

However, Adityanath defied a ban imposed on him to hold election meetings in UP and addressed an election meeting at Indira Nagar locality by appearing on the stage.

According to EC, the Gorakhpur MP, often accused of making hate speeches by the Opposition, had said mikes from a temple were removed in Moradabad but were allowed in mosques and those who protested were sent to jail.

The poll watchdog had also said Adityanath had reportedly said that an India without Ram cannot be imagined.

It had added that Adityanath had also said those who trouble Hindus with riots will have to pay dearly.

He, according to EC's notice, had sought votes for the BJP candidate in the name of Lord Ram.

In a major comeback, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, which had suffered a rout in the 2014 General Elections, bounced back in the Assembly bypolls in Uttar Pradesh today.

Buoyed by the performance of the Samajwadi Party that won four seats and was leading in four constituencies, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav said he was happy that the people of the state have reposed faith in his party and given a thumbs down to the "communal" politics of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"We are happy and thankful that people have preferred development and prosperity over false hopes and communal politics that BJP practised," he said, IANS reported.

The SP has won from Sirathu, Hamirpur, Bijnore and Charkhari assembly constituencies and had a comfortable lead of over two lakh votes in Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency from where Tej Pratap Singh, grand-nephew of SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, is the party candidate.

The BJP, which had won all the 11 seats in the 2012 state assembly elections, went down to just three as counting progressed. The party won the Saharanpur (City) state assembly seat while its candidates were leading convincingly in Lucknow (East) and Noida seats.