'Why is Mayawati not fighting polls properly these days?' Rahul Gandhi asks, she hits back
Lucknow/IBNS: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for attacking her for not 'fighting elections properly.'
"Behenji (Mayawati) aajkal chunaav theek se kyun nahi lad rahi (Why is Mayawati not fighting polls properly these days)," Gandhi asked a group of Dalit students in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.
Reacting sharply to the allegation, Mayawati, a former Dalit chief minister of UP, accused the Congress of "animosity and casteist attitude" towards her party.
"In the states where Congress is strong or where it has governments, there is animosity and casteist attitude towards BSP and its followers, but in a state like UP where Congress is weak, there is deceptive talk of alliance with BSP, if this is not the double standard of that party then what is it?" Mayawati posted on X.
1. कांग्रेस पार्टी जिन राज्यों में मजबूत है या जहाँ उनकी सरकारें हैं वहाँ बीएसपी व उनके अनुयाइयों के साथ द्वेष व जातिवादी रवैया है, किन्तु यूपी जैसे राज्य में जहाँ कांग्रेस कमजोर है वहाँ बीएसपी से गठबंधन की वरग़लाने वाली बातें करना यह उस पार्टी का दोहरा चरित्र नहीं तो और क्या है?
— Mayawati (@Mayawati) February 20, 2025
Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Raebareli, staged the verbal attack by praising Mayawati first, then slipped in a sharp question.
"Ye toh kehna padega ki Kanshi ram ji ne neev rakhi aur Behenji ne kaam kiya, ye toh main bhi manta hoon. Magar ek sawaal hai mera, Behenji aajkal chunaav theek se kyun nahi lad rahi (I must say that Kanshi Ram ji laid the foundation and Behenji carried on the work. I also agree with this. But I have a question. Why is Behenji not fighting the elections properly these days?" he said.
छात्रों के बीच जननायक
— UP Congress (@INCUttarPradesh) February 20, 2025
📍 रायबरेली pic.twitter.com/KXS41K9F4K
The Congress fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, winning six and 37 seats, respectively.
The BSP contested 79 seats and finished with 9.4 percent of the votes, but won zero seats.
Mayawati, 69, said that whenever the BSP has contested elections in UP and other states in alliance with Congress, her party's base vote has been transferred to them but the same has not been reciprocated.
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