SIR triggered infighting in BJP, MLAs rattled by voter list cuts: Akhilesh Yadav

SP (Samajwadi Party) president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday took a swipe at the ruling BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), claiming that the alleged removal of 2.89 crore voters’ names during the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) exercise has sent shockwaves through the party and triggered internal infighting in Uttar Pradesh.

Yadav’s remarks came amid reports of a meeting of BJP MLAs from the Brahman community in Lucknow, a development he suggested was less about ideology and more about electoral panic.

“While the apparent reason for the infighting within the Uttar Pradesh BJP may be a ‘rebel meeting’, the real reason is that news has already spread among BJP MLAs that 2.89 crore voters’ names have been removed in the SIR,” Yadav said in a statement.

On 23 December, BJP MLAs from the Brahmin community gathered at the Lucknow residence of P.N. Pathak, the party MLA from Kushinagar district. Around 40 MLAs from Purvanchal and Bundelkhand attended the meeting, setting off speculation about dissent within the ruling party.

Taking a dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Yadav remarked, “According to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who has ‘one year left’ in his term, approximately 85–90 per cent of his own voters have been removed from the list.”

Breaking it down with what he called “political mathematics”, the former chief minister said, “If we consider only 85 per cent of 28,900,000, this figure would be approximately 24,565,000. Now, if this figure is divided by the total 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh, this figure will come to approximately 61,000 votes per seat.”

Yadav claimed the numbers explain the visible nervousness in BJP ranks. “In such a situation, how will they form a government? They won’t even be able to cross the double-digit mark,” he said, adding that the party’s internal strife was now spilling into the open.

“That is why the internal conflict is now manifesting itself in the form of mutual accusations, counter-accusations, and open notices,” he added.

Amid the chatter of discontent, Uttar Pradesh BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary on Thursday urged party workers not to fall into “negative politics”.

Yadav, however, mocked the damage-control exercise, claiming that BJP MLAs were no longer listening to the party leadership, forcing it to conduct internal surveys to assess their performance ahead of elections.

“This is the fundamental reason why they have all come together to defend themselves. In the massive corruption of a select few in the BJP, these people, who have reached the level of rebellion due to their dissatisfaction, have received nothing but the stain of infamy. The BJP’s own actions have led to its downfall,” he said.

With PTI inputs