A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi implied there was a rift in the opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Sunday lent support to the Congress in Amethi and Rae Bareli - strongholds of the Gandhi family. As the two constituencies gear up for the Lok Sabha elections in the fifth phase on Monday, Mayawati said the decision to not field a joint BSP-SP candidate from these constituencies was a deliberate attempt to destabilise the BJP vote share. Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Polling schedule, results date, constituency-wise results, how to check live counting "We decided to forego the Amethi and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seats to the Congress to weaken the vote base of the BJP-RSS affiliated powers, in favour of the people, so that the two incumbent MPs (Rahul and Sonia Gandhi) contest from these seats again," she said on Sunday. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, a sitting three-time MP of Amethi, is also contesting from Wayanad in Kerala in this year's elections. "Keeping in mind that the BJP does not benefit from these constituencies, the alliance decided to leave the two seats for the Congress. I am hopeful that every vote in favour of our alliance will go to the Congress MPs (in these seats)," she further said. Addressing a rally on Saturday, PM Modi had alleged that the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress were deceiving Mayawati on the pretext of making her the PM, and that she had understood their “big game”. Questioning the SP’s “silence” on the Congress, he hinted at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s address to SP workers in Rae Bareli as a sign of the understanding between the two parties. Mayawati: Humne desh mein, janhit mein khaskar BJP-RSS wadi takaton ko kamzor karne ke liye UP mein Amethi-Raebareli LS seat ko Congress party ke liye isiliye chhod diya taki iske dono sarvoch neta dono seaton se hi phirse chunav lade aur in dono seaton mein ulajh kar na reh jaye pic.twitter.com/3whOFcrxLO — ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 5, 2019 Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha, plays a significant role in deciding who will form the next government at the Centre. In a bid to defeat the incumbent BJP, the Samajwadi Party and the BSP came together after 25 years. Despite ruling out a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, the two regional parties chose not to contest Amethi and Rae Bareli. However, Mayawati has been reiterating that the BSP is not in alliance with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh or any other part of the country. Last month, the Congress declared it would not field candidates in seven Lok Sabha seats against the BSP-SP-RLD alliance in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had then asserted that their alliance is enough to destabilise the BJP and that the Congress is free to contest in all 80 seats.
