VARANASI: In the last leg of the two-phased polls involving 27 parliamentary constituencies, the jugalbandi (duet) between BSP chief
Mayawati and Samajwadi Party chief
Akhilesh Yadav not only drew mammoth crowds, but also triggered a tremor in BJP ranks. The twin satraps strategically attacked PM
Narendra Modi and CM
Yogi Adityanath in their joint rallies.
Mayawati was guarded and protective of her younger ally, Akhilesh Yadav and shielding him from onslaughts of PM Modi, who in her words was "conspiring to drive a wedge between them". Addressing a rally of SP and BSP workers in Bhadohi, where BSP's Rangnath Mishra is in fray, Mayawati defended Akhilesh's decision to restore the name of Bhadohi from Sant Ravi Das Nagar, saying he was a first-time CM and may have been misguided by bureaucrats. At a recent rally in Bhadohi, Modi had lambasted Akhilesh for insulting the
Dalit
mystic.
"The PM's conspiracy to split the alliance won't succeed and the
SP-BSP pact
is here to stay," Mayawati said.
Echoing her views, Akhilesh, while addressing three rallies, projected Mayawati as the next PM, but without naming her. He said, "The next PM would be from the alliance and from UP and everyone knows who it will be."
It seems Mayawati and Akhilesh have hammered out a strategy that one will attack the PM and the other, CM. If Mayawati is taking on the PM, Akhilesh is unsparing on Yogi Adityanath.