Polling was underway in the elections for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday amid fears of cross-voting in the opposition Samajwadi Party camp, underscored by party MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey resigning as its chief whip in the Assembly.
This comes a day after eight MLAs, including Pandey, skipped a meeting called by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at his residence here to brief party legislators about the voting process.
Speaking to reporters before casting his vote at the Assembly’s Tilak Hall earlier in the day, Yadav said those who were looking for a “profit” in this situation would leave.
The BJP will adopt any means necessary to win elections, he alleged, adding, “Those who put spikes in someone else’s path or dig holes for others will pay the price themselves.”
“You have seen what happened in Chandigarh in front of CCTV cameras. I thank the Supreme Court, which saved the Constitution. The BJP can adopt all tricks to win elections. It must have given assurance (to some MLAs) of some profit… BJP will do anything to win,” Yadav said.
Besides the SP president, Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna were among the prominent faces who arrived at the Assembly to cast their votes.