In another joint rally in west Uttar Pradesh which also saw a huge turnout, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said on Monday the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates would forget to chant NaMo after seeing such a huge rush of people to these rallies..

Unlike the rally in Deoband on Sunday, Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Ajit Singh did not attend Monday’s rally.

Referring to the word ‘ Sarab’ used by Prime Minister Natendra Modi in his Meerut rally on March 28, the BSP chief said by saying so Modi has insulted the Gathbandhan parties and their supporters.

She urged the gathering to punish the Bharatiya Janata Party by casting every vote in support of the alliance candidates.

She said the CBI, ED and other central agencies were being used against rival parties and influential persons.

She targeted both the Congress and the BJP and urged people to shun them as they had failed to deliver. She cautioned her supporters not to fall for their ‘sugar-coated’ offers. “They will try every possible trick to woo but you have to be careful,” she said adding, “Also don’t believe on poll surveys in media and don’t believe in promises in their manifestoes”.

She blamed the BJP for making hollow promises as most of them had turned into mere “jumlas”. “Where is Sabka Saath, Sabka vikas,” she asked and said the BSP believed in delivering on ground and hence didn’t release any manifesto.

Mayawati had courted controversy in her Sunday rally at Deoband by appealing to Muslims to not vote for Congress and split their votes, prompting the BJP to lodge a complaint with the Election Commission.

Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Jayant Choudhary also addressed the Meerut rally and said the BJP’s lies, hatred and money power would not come handy this time vis a vis the huge support the alliance was receiving everywhere.

Referring to Modi’s “Sharab” jibe against alliance partners, Jayant said, “He ( Modi) has insulted our great leaders.” He reminded people how farmers were beaten up when they marched to Delhi to raise their issues.

He came down heavily on chief minister Yogi Adityanath for accusing him of insulting Jats. “Can anyone believe it? I believe in the ideology of Charan Singh and those who follow him can’t think of insulting anyone,” he added.

He said the victory of the ‘Gathbandhan’ would be the victory of those who say ‘Jai Bheem’ and ‘ Ram Ram’.

First Published: Apr 09, 2019 10:58 IST