Lucknow

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday raised questions over the conduct of the West Bengal Assembly elections and urged the Supreme Court of India to examine the electoral process.

Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav demanded greater transparency in vote counting and called for the video footage of the counting process to be made public.

He questioned why the counting of votes could not be broadcast live, drawing a comparison with court proceedings that are now available for public viewing.

“If judicial proceedings can be streamed live, there is no reason why vote counting cannot be made visible to the public as well,” he said, while also asking why live CCTV access from counting centres was not being provided.

The Samajwadi Party leader urged the apex court to take immediate cognisance of the West Bengal elections and ensure that recordings of the counting process are placed before the people.

Citing what he described as irregularities witnessed in some elections and bypolls in Uttar Pradesh over recent years, Yadav alleged that discrepancies during counting were not new and required closer institutional scrutiny.

He further claimed that the developments witnessed in West Bengal could serve as a warning for Uttar Pradesh, where assembly elections are scheduled next year.

According to Yadav, similar tactics could be employed on a larger scale in the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, alleging the existence of a “multi-layered election machinery” that could influence the electoral environment.

He said the events in West Bengal had exposed methods allegedly used to shape electoral outcomes and public perception.

His remarks came days after the Bharatiya Janata Party registered a sweeping victory in West Bengal, defeating the All India Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee.

Yadav, who had publicly backed Banerjee and her party during the campaign, also indicated that he plans to travel to West Bengal in the near future.

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“I will visit West Bengal,” he told reporters.