New Delhi, Oct. 29 -- Even as the Samajwadi Party (SP) won five of the 11 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council seats that went to polls, party chief Akhilesh Yadav, before the results were finalised on Thursday, alleged that the BJP was attempting to delay the declaration of his party's victory in the Varanasi Graduates' constituency.

Yadav accused the Varanasi administration of coming under pressure from Delhi and Lucknow, alleging that the result showing his party's candidate winning was ready but the victory certificate was being withheld. Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency since 2014, became the focus of the controversy as counting continued late into Wednesday evening.

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