Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav. File
| Photo Credit: PTI
Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday (January 17, 2026) hinted that his party will move the Supreme Court on the issue of electoral transparency.
Addressing a press conference here, the former UP CM came down heavily on the BJP and accused it of manipulating electoral rolls.
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He said the Samajwadi Party would like to move the Supreme Court to verify the accuracy of the Election Commission’s electoral rolls.
“We are planning to move the Supreme Court to verify whether the voter list prepared by the Election Commission is valid or the list compiled by the State Election Commission is accurate,” Mr. Yadav said.
He also advocated for ballot paper format of elections in India.
Mr. Yadav said, “Countries like Germany and Japan do not use electronic voting machines (EVMs).”
When asked whether the Samajwadi Party and the BJD will have any alliance in the state, Mr. Yadav said, “We would like to have. We have to strengthen here.”
The Samajwadi Party president had called on the BJD chief at his residence here on Friday.
Mr. Yadav, however, did not elaborate on the details of his discussion with Patnaik and said, “Two former chief ministers met and shared their views and resolved to defeat the BJP.”
Mr. Yadav said his father (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and Patnaik’s father, Biju Patnaik, were very close to each other, and both parties believe in socialism.
Replying to a question on BJP government’s Ayushman Bharat health card, Mr. Yadav said the socialists do not believe in cards. “Let all poor people get free treatment without any limit. The serious illness of all should also be made free,” he said.
The Samajwadi Party chief also alleged that the BJP creates communal tensions for its political gain.
Published – January 18, 2026 10:23 am IST
