With Akhilesh Yadav by her side, BSP chief Mayawati on Saturday took a swipe at his estranged uncle Shivpal Yadav, saying the SP-BSP alliance had rendered useless the BJP's financial investment on him.
“The money spent like water by the BJP on Shri Shivpal Yadav will surely go waste now,” said Ms. Mayawati, while addressing a joint press conference with Akhilesh Yadav.
Though she claimed that the SP-BSP alliance was potent enough to stop the BJP from coming to power at the Centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Ms. Mayawati had a word of caution for the workers and leaders of both parties.
She asked them to beware of “greedy and sold-out” parties and leaders propped up by the BJP “behind the curtains” to mislead OBCs, Dalits and Muslims as part of a conspiracy, with a special reference to Shivpal Yadav.
Ms. Mayawati also asked people to choose the SP-BSP alliance, which was “holy” and based on “brotherhood”.
Responding to her jibes, Shivpal Yadav, the president of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia), cautioned his nephew Akhilesh against trusting Mayawati, saying she could align with the BJP post-poll after taking the votes of OBCs, Dalits and Muslims.
Referring to the BSP having formed government in UP thrice with the BJP, Shivpal Yadav said his four-decade long “struggle against communal forces” was “beyond doubt”.
“It is also sad that one steeped in financial corruption and one who sells election tickets, is accusing me of taking financial support from the BJP. The top leadership of the SP should understand that even in the past Mayawati has taken the votes of Backwards, Dalits and Muslims and then gone on to sit in the lap of the BJP,” said Mr. Yadav in a statement.
History could repeat itself after the election results of the 2019 Lok Sabha, he warned Akhilesh.
During the press conference, while Akhilesh Yadav did not target or name his uncle, he warned his workers to stay alert from “different kinds of conspiracies” the BJP could come up with after the announcement of the alliance. The BJP could even create “an atmosphere of hate between our workers (SP and BSP) through misunderstandings and could also try to incite riots,” he said.