Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday accused the BJP of taking over the democratic system and using the administrative machinery to “loot” votes in Bengal, before setting off for Calcutta to meet Mamata Banerjee.

Upping the ante against the BJP after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the groundwork for the Uttar Pradesh elections next year against the backdrop of the party’s success in the latest round of Assembly polls, Akhilesh said: “Dus numbari ne poore loktantra ko jakad liya hai (Democracy is now in the vice grip of the frauds). The BJP shamefully looted votes in Bengal. They didn’t hesitate to use the administrative machinery for their illegal acts.

“But they can’t defeat the PDA (Pichchra, Dalit, Alpsankhayak, a reference to the backwards, Dalits and minorities who form a considerable support base of the Samajwadis). The PDA represents a major vote share in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP is desperate here.”

Former chief minister Akhilesh, the BJP’s principal rival in Uttar Pradesh, said he would meet Mamata to unite the Opposition against the BJP.

“We are going to wage a bigger war (than in Bengal) in 2027 to protect democracy and the Constitution. The SP is also committed to representing half of the population (women) of the state,” he said, without elaborating.

The Assembly elections are scheduled in April next year.

While addressing his party workers in New Delhi after the results of the Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory were announced on May 4, Modi had targeted the Samajwadis and said the people would teach them a lesson in 2027 for “defeating the women’s reservation bill” in Parliament.

Modi had in an address to the nation accused the Congress, DMK, Trinamool and Samajwadis of committing the “bhrun hatya” (foeticide) of an “honest endeavour” by defeating the constitutional amendment bill meant to fast-track reservation for women in legislatures. The Opposition had argued that the central government was trying to push through its delimitation agenda in the garb of women’s reservation in Parliament.

Akhilesh said on Wednesday: “We are also demanding a caste census and proportionate reservation in the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies before we agree to the other reservation bills.”

Mentioning the Kundarki and Rampur by-elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2024 and 2022, respectively, Akhilesh said: “We had witnessed the game of the multi-layered election mafia robbing votes.”

The BJP had wrested both seats from the SP. The Kundarki seat had fallen vacant following the election of local MLA Zia-Ur-Rehman Burq to the Lok Sabha from Sambhal. The Rampur bypoll was necessitated by the disqualification of SP MLA Azam Khan. Both seats have a substantial Muslim population.

“The dus numbari model of the BJP is active across the country and is trying to hijack Indian democracy. We’ll see that they are defeated,” Akhilesh said.