In a guarded approach over the developments in Uttar Pradesh, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Kishenchand Advani on Saturday said it was up to the Election Commission to take cognisance of the governor's report on the state government.
"This is not a question about who's in a majority and who in a minority. It is about the conduct of assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in a free and fair atmosphere. Therefore, the Election Commission should take cognisance of the report of the governor regarding conduct of elections under the ruling Samajwadi party," Advani said.
In his report to the Centre, Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeswar is understood to have expressed apprehensions of horse-trading in case of a trial of strength in the Assembly following the disqualification of 13 BSP legislators by the Supreme Court.
The BJP leader, whose party has been persistently seeking the imposition of the President's rule in the state, avoided making the same demand at this juncture.
He, however, insisted that the Samajwadi Party government was bound to lose power now or in the upcoming elections. "The Samajwadi Party government has to go either through dismissal now or in the elections that are approaching," he said.