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LUCKNOW — Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday accused the BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP) of being "hand in glove" in the run-up to the November 13 bypolls to nine Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh in which the BSP is going solo on all seats.
Addressing a press conference here, the former UP chief minister also slammed the two parties for their "misleading" slogans -- BJP's 'Batenge toh Katenge' (divided we fall) and SP's 'Judenge toh Jeetenge' (united we win) -- and said these are designed to divert people's attention from the real issues.
Comparing the rule of BSP, SP and now the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati pitched her regime (2007-2012) as the best in terms of law and order.
"BSP se Judenge toh Aage Badhenge, Surakshit Rahenge (people will progress and remain safe in BSP's company)," Mayawati said, as she reiterated her "BJP-SP together" charge to blunt SP's claim of BSP being "BJP's B team".
"Ever since the bypolls were announced and the BSP decided to go solo on all nine seats, the BJP-BSP alliance has lost its sleep. Except for a couple of bypolls, BSP has not contested byelections here," Mayawati said at the presser.
"They have so far been contesting elections with a mutual understanding, but now with the BSP contesting the bypolls, the troubles of their 'alliance' have increased.
"To divert public attention, now the BJP has invoked 'Batenge toh Katenge' slogan while SP says 'Judenge toh Jeetenge' and are busy popularising them," Mayawati added.
The BSP supremo's remarks came hours after Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya sought to delink the BJP from the 'Batenge toh Katenge' phrase used by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at Agra in August this year whose "spirit" was subsequently endorsed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
"We will not let the opposition succeed with its dirty game of calling 'Batenge toh Katenge' BJP's slogan. Our party's slogan is the one coined by our top leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'. 'Batenge toh Katenge' was part of a speech, and not a party slogan," Maurya told PTI.
Maurya later posted on X: "'Ek hain to Safe hain' (united we are safe) -- this proclamation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the guarantee of a developed India and the well-being of all. 'Ek Bharat-Samath Bharat'."
Meanwhile, Mayawati said that people must not fall for such "empty" slogans as the "BSP has proved that its rule in UP has been the best".
"To hide their weaknesses, the BJP and SP are going to the people with such slogans but the fact is that their alliance is misleading the voters, something which the masses need to be aware of," she said.
She also alleged that during SP's rule, the government was run mostly by criminals and mafia, and not by officials.
"And now it seems the SP is trying to discreetly suggest to such criminals that they would be safe only if they help the SP and its alliance win the bypolls to be in a position to form the government later. We have information on this," she claimed.
"We are only trying to tell the voters that they will be safe only if they stay away from these two parties. The time has come for the people to reject the parties that promote such vulgar, vicious and narrow-minded slogans. That is why these bypolls are so important," Mayawati added.
The bypolls are scheduled for November 13 in Katehari (Ambedkar Nagar), Karhal (Mainpuri), Meerapur (Muzaffarnagar), Ghaziabad, Majhawan (Mirzapur), Sishamau (Kanpur city), Khair (Aligarh), Phulpur (Prayagraj) and Kundarki (Moradabad). Votes will be counted on November 23.
Eight of the seats fell vacant after their MLAs were elected as MPs in the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year, while the byelection in Sishamau was necessitated following the disqualification of SP MLA Irfan Solanki, who has been convicted in a criminal case.
In the 2022 Assembly elections, Sishamau, Katehari, Karhal, Milkipur and Kundarki were won by the SP, while the BJP emerged winner in Phulpur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan and Khair.
The Meerapur seat was won by the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD).