Both Ali, Bajrang Bali ours, says Mayawati; links her community to Hanuman
Badaun (UP), Apr 13: Slamming Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over his recent remark, BSP chief Mayawati Saturday said her own party wanted both Ali and Bajrang Bali particularly Bajrang Bali as the deity is "linked with my own Dalit caste".
Mayawati recalled Adityanath's comment in which he referred to her earlier appeal to Muslims to vote for the opposition alliance in Uttar Pradesh.
Apparently referring to Muslims and Hindus, Adityanath had said if Ali is with the opposition, the Bajrang Bali is with the BJP.
"In this connection, I want to tell him that both Ali and Bajrang Bali are ours, she said at the joint opposition rally she addressed here along with Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav.
So we want Ali as well as Bajrang Bali," she said. "We particularly want Bajrang Bali because he is linked to my own Dalit caste."
Last year Adityanath had described Bajrang Bali or Lord Hanuman as a forest dweller and a Dalit, provoking controversy.
"I am very thankful to Yogi ji that he has given us important information about our ancestors, the Bahujan Samaj Party leader said.
So it is a very happy moment to note that we have both Ali and Bajrang Bali, and their coming together will give us very good results in these elections," she said.
"In the Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi's party will get the votes of neither Ali nor Bajrang Bali, who is associated with my caste," she said.
Earlier this week, the Election Commission served a notice to Mayawati over her appeal for votes to Muslims and sent Adityanath one for his Ali-Bajrang Bali comment.
"In these elections, the `Namo Namo' people are going out of power and the Jai Bhim ones are coming, which is also the need of the country," Mayawati said.
NaMo is a Hindi acronym for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and `Jai Bhim' is the slogan used by followers of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar.
The BSP supremo said the Dalits have long left the Congress and the BJP.
Akhilesh Yadav accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of creating a gulf of hatred in the country.
The BJP wants to divide society to gain power in the manner in which the British divided us," he said.
Yadav said he did not need to give a certificate of the work done by him when he was chief minister, claiming there has been development when the SP or the BSP has run the state.
"The BJP says the borders are safe as it is their government at the Centre, but I want to tell them that the borders and the country are safe because of our brave soldiers, he said.
Governments keep coming and going but the jawans posted at the borders keep the country safe," the SP leader added.
The BSP, the SP and the Rashtriya Lok Dal have forged an alliance for the 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh.
The meeting at Badaun was the second joint rally held by the alliance, after the one in Saharanpur's Deoband where Mayawati urged Muslims not to let their vote split.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
