Lucknow, Oct. 28 -- Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of electoral malpractices and administrative manipulation in key constituencies such as Gorakhpur and Banaras (Varanasi). He claimed the election outcomes marked the beginning of the BJP's political decline in the state.

In a post on X, Yadav asserted that the opposition's 'PDA' (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) alliance had delivered a severe blow to the ruling party.

"In fact, they are secretly happy about the PDA's victory too; no one becomes a stranger just by leaving home. If the scheming BJP folks hadn't pulled that double-cross in Gorakhpur, the same fate as in Banaras would have befallen them there too. All in all, the...