Azamgarh bypolls: Mayawati asks voters to teach lesson to BJP, SP

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday urged the voters to teach a lesson to the BJP and the Samajwadi Party in bypolls to the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat, asserting that both the parties are two sides of the same coin.Speaking at a press conference here, Mayawati said, Though this is a by-election, it is important and special for the people of Azamgarh, as they can hit two targets with one arrow -- firstly teaching the BJP a lesson by defeating it for its anti-people schemes like the Agnipath and also for its arrogant working style of using bulldozers.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Sunday urged the voters to teach a lesson to the BJP and the Samajwadi Party in bypolls to the Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat, asserting that both the parties are two sides of the same coin.

Speaking at a press conference here, Mayawati said, ''Though this is a by-election, it is important and special for the people (of Azamgarh), as they can hit two targets with one arrow -- firstly teaching the BJP a lesson by defeating it for its anti-people schemes like the Agnipath and also for its arrogant working style of using bulldozers. Secondly, the people can also punish the Samajwadi Party for its internal collusion with the ruling party.'' ''This will establish that BSP is the strongest medium to defeat the BJP in elections in UP, and not the SP,'' the former chief minister asserted.

Sharpening her attack further, Mayawati said, ''It is well known that BJP and SP are two sides of the same coin, and they complement each other. The policies and working style of both the parties strengthen each other politically. The brunt of this has to be borne by a section of the society which is neglected.'' The BSP supremo said that her party was called the BJP's B team in the recently-concluded UP Assembly elections due to the 'milibhagat' (tacit understanding) between BJP and SP. ''The elections were given a communal colour, due to which the BJP came back to power for a second time,'' she said, adding that people are now feeling cheated.

''People of a community should not make such a mistake again in the Azamgarh (Lok Sabha) bypolls,'' she said.

Azamgarh, along with Rampur, will vote on June 23.

The BSP has fielded Shah Alam alias Guddu Jamali from Azamgarh. However, the party has not fielded any candidate from Rampur.

The Lok Sabha seats of Azamgarh and Rampur fell vacant after Samajwadi Party leaders Akhilesh Yadav and Mohammad Azam Khan resigned after they won the assembly elections.

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