Bahujan Samaj Party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati on Wednesday expressed confidence that both Muslims and Dalits will vote for her party and they will form government in state with full majority. Her statement came in response to Network18’s interview with Union home minister Amit Shah where he had said that it would be wrong to summarize that BSP is losing relevance. He added that it is Akhilesh Yadav who has deviated from the real issues in UP elections 2022,
Mayawati, who spoke to News18 after casting her vote in Lucknow, agreed with Shah and said, “He is right in his assessment. Muslim samaj is already angry with the Samajwadi Party. Why will it vote for them? UP residents have rejected SP even before polling as voting for SP means gunda raj and mafia raj, We have already seen riots during SP regime. The face of Samajwadi Party leaders tell that they are not coming in power.”
The SP, which is seen as the BJP’s main competitor for power in UP, is counting on retaining its Muslim vote and weaning away traditional voters of other parties. However, the Union home minister contended that the election had moved beyond religion and caste.
“There is a tradition that was started by the Congress, which the SP and BSP have cemented, and were successful on these fronts in the past too. But I think now, that it’s slowly decreasing,” he told Network18.
Asked if the UP elections were being polarised, Amit Shah replied in the affirmative, but said it is the poor and famers who are being polarised.
“Yes, polarization is happening. The poor and farmers are being polarised. Many farmers are getting money from the Kisan Kalyan Nidhi Yojana. I can see ‘polarisation’ clearly.”
In the interview, the senior BJP leader also emphasized that “voting pattern can’t be termed polarisation”.
“We have left no stone unturned. We have extended benefits to every section of the society, irrespective of caste and religion. Whoever was eligible has received benefits. Under the PM’s initiative, we have given gas to 1.66 crore women in UP. Around 2.62 lakh families did not have proper toilets. Can you imagine that? Today, women don’t have to defecate in the open and they are happy. Around 40 lakh women have benefitted from the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana,” Shah said.
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