Mayawati: Alliance will stay, contest Assembly polls together

She was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who recently said that the SP-BSP alliance will not last long and would fall apart once the election results are out on May 23.

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Mayawati at a rally in Mohanlalganj. (Express file photo by Vishal Srivastav)

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Tuesday said that the ‘gathbandhan’ in Uttar Pradesh would stay strong and contest the Assembly polls together in 2022. She was responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath who recently said that the SP-BSP alliance will not last long and would fall apart once the election results are out on May 23.

Addressing a joint rally with SP president Akhilesh Yadav for the alliance candidate in Bhadohi on Tuesday, Mayawati said, “Jab kendra mein humein apne gathbandhan ki sarkar banane ka mauka mil jata hai aur BJP satta se baahr ho jati hai, to yeh bhi mai batana chahti hoon, jab UP mein assembly ka chunaav hoga, toh Modi pehle chale jayenge, phir Yogi bhi chale jayenge… jahaan matth mein rehte hain, jantar mantar karne mein jut jayenge (When we get a chance to form our alliance government at the Centre and the BJP loses power, then, I want to tell you, when the UP assembly polls are held, then Modi would be gone and Yogi, too, will go. He will go back to the matth where he would do the job of a priest).”

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“Yeh BJP and company ke log kitne bhi sapne dekhte rahein ki yeh gathbandhan toot jayega. Kisi bhi keemat par yeh gathbandhan nahi tootega… (BJP and company are dreaming about the alliance breaking. The alliance will not break at any cost),” Mayawati said.

Slamming the BJP for conspiring to break the SP-BSP alliance, she said, “Inhone pehle toh prayas kiya ki Behenji ke oopar thoda naram haath rakho, aur Akhilesh ke oopar kadak haath rakho. Inke aapas mein galatfaimi paida karo. Lekin jab maine press mein jaa kar inko muh tod jawaab diya, toh uske baad inke pench jo hain, dheele ho gaye. Inke dimaag aur shadyantra ke pench dheele ho gaye (They initially tried to go soft on me and tough on Akhilesh. They tried to create a misunderstanding between us. But, after I gave a strong reply through media, the conspiracy was stopped).”

Taking a jibe at Modi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “Jab se aadarniya Mayawati ji ne unhe apna jo praman patra lekar ghoom rahe they uske baare mein yaad dilaya hai, tab se woh apni jaati bhi bhool gaye. Aap ke yahaan toh koi nayi jaati bata ke to nahi chale gaye (Since the time Mayawati reminded him about his caste certificate, he has forgotten his caste. Did he tell you about some new caste when he came here).”

Asad Rehman

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More