Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said the BJP was following the “Pakistani model of election” where the army decided who would win.

“The BJP is following Pakistan where the forces selectively allow the voters to cast their votes. Here in Mainpuri Lok Sabha, and Rampur and Khatauli Assembly seats, the officers of local administration and the police were threatening a section of people against casting their votes,” Akhilesh said told reporters at Saifai, his village in Etawah district, on Monday morning when the byelection was underway at these places.

Akhilesh’s wife and SP candidate from Mainpuri, Dimple Yadav, was sitting beside him.

“The Election Commission of India has turned a blind eye as the local administrations act as BJP agents. We can’t expect an impartial election in this situation. This is a warning for us that we have to prepare meticulously for the 2024 parliamentary elections to save the people from the BJP’s misrule,” the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh said.

On Monday morning, Akhilesh posted a video on Twitter and wrote: “The CO (circle officer) of Khatauli Rakesh Kumar Singh is working as an agent of the BJP. He is scolding and asking the Muslim voters to go away. The Election Commission (of India) should take note of it, suspend the CO immediately and ensure an impartial election.”

The SP boss also posted a video in which the circle officer was seen asking a voter, who was carrying a copy of his Aadhaar card, to bring the voter ID card.

“Bring the voter ID first,” the officer was heard saying in the video.

Singh confirmed that he was the man in the video. “There were some doubts about the identity of some voters and so we asked them to bring their voter IDs. They were residents of nearby areas and could bring them,” the circle officer said.

Singh didn’t explain why Aadhaar card, which is accepted as proof of identity for casting vote, was not enough.