Days after BSP and SP announced their alliance in Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, an alleged fake list with the names of BSP candidates was circulating online.
The party filed an FIR in Lucknow on Monday, 14 January, based on a complaint by BSP state President RS Kushwaha. Police have registered a case for fraud, conspiracy and cheating by impersonation, reported NDTV.
It is not known who posted the ‘list’ – which allegedly features Kushwaha’s forged signature – online.
Twitter users began congratulating BSP leaders as the list circulated online. One of the MPs on the list, Atiq Ahmed, is currently in jail for assaulting staff members of the Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences in Prayagraj (formerly, Allahabad).
On Monday, Kushwaha released an official press statement and said: “It has not been decided which of the 38 seats will BSP and SP contest from. In such a situation, the rivals have circulated this fake list to create panic and confusion.”
“This move by the rivals shows that they are alarmed by the gathbandhan (alliance) of BSP and SP,” the statement read.
In a snub to Congress, the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party on Saturday, 12 January, formalised an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Barring two seats, the alliance partners will contest 38 seats each.
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