Mayawati gives new twist to "Ali and Bajrangbali", says both ours

Lucknow, Apr 13: In a sharp retort to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's recent remark, BSP chief Mayawati appealed to both the minorities and the Dalits to not waste their votes and said "both Ali and Bajrangbali are ours and with their blessings, we will get votes in the election."

Speaking at a rally in Baduan, Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati said people who believe in Ali and Bajrangbali have decided not to vote for either the BJP or the Congress as both these parties now stand exposed.

"Both Ali and Bajrangbali are ours and with their blessings we will get votes in the election. We want Bajrangbali as he is a Dalit, and it's not me who defined his caste, but (UP Chief Minister) Yogi Adityanath who came up with the revelation. I am grateful to Adityanath for informing us about such an important fact about our ancestors," she said.

Yogi Adityanath landed in fresh trouble last week over his "Ali-Bajrangbali" comment he made recently to attack Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. Within days of being warned by the Election Commission for his "Modi's Army" remark, the Uttar Pradesh Chief minister received yet another election code violation notice from the poll body. He has 24 hours to respond.

"If the Congress, the SP and the BSP have faith in Ali, then we too have faith in Bajrang Bali, Yogi had said.

The BSP chief on Thursday received a notice from the Election Commission for her comment in which she had asked the Muslim community to not split its vote between her alliance and the Congress.

"I want to tell the people of the Muslim community, don't divide your votes. Instead, you should vote only for candidates of the BSP, SP (Samajwadi Party) and RLD (Rashtriya Lok Dal) so that they win...," she had said at a rally in Deoband.

Today, Mayawati and Yadav were addressing the gathering in favour of the alliance candidate from Badaun, Dharmendra Yadav, who is also a cousin of the SP chief.