LUCKNOW: With BSP chief Mayawati facing a poll campaign ban of 48 hours by the Election Commission of India, her nephew Akash addressed party supporters at the joint alliance rally at Kothi Meena Bazaar in Taj city of Agra on Tuesday.
After being included in the party’s star campaigners list recently, Akash never knew that he will have to hold her aunt’s fort so early. Sharing the stage with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, RLD chief Chaudhury Ajit Singh and his own party’s national general secretary SC Mishra, Akash was entrusted with the inaugural address of the rally.
Akash held the mike and commenced his speech with the rant of ‘Jai Bheem’ to the cheering alliance supporters in a style quintessential to Mayawati who uses the same slogan while starting and ending her speech.
Making a strong appeal to get the deposits of opponents forfeited, Akash, who followed his aunt in reading out a written speech, thanked supporters for having turned up in huge number due to the appeal of Mayawati.
Exhorting the alliance supporters to respond to the Election Commission for ‘gagging’ Mayawati through their votes in favour of alliance candidate, Akash said: “I hope you all will listen to what I say and vote in huge numbers that security deposits of opponents gets forfeited. This will be the real answer to the Election Commission,” he said concluding his speech with ‘Jai Bhim, Jai Bharat.’
Apart from Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh, BSP’s national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra was also present on stage. Akash has been accompanying the BSP chief in all the major rallies and public gatherings.
Meanwhile, Mayawati, through a letter, called the poll panel anti-Dalit and alliance leaders accused it of dancing to BJP tunes. The BSP chief, who could not attend the rally owing EC’s 48-hour ban on her, had sent a letter to her supporters in the rally claiming that the ban was nothing but a conspiracy of the EC hatched in collusion with the BJP to stop her from poll campaign. “The BJP got so jittery after the first phase of voting that it was using EC to stop my campaign,” wrote Mayawati. She also attributed the EC action to its anti-Dalit mindset.
Meanwhile, addressing the Agra rally, all the alliance leaders including Akhilesh Yadav and Ajit Singh, condemned ECI for banning Mayawati saying her Deoband speech did not fall in the category of communal discourse. The charged the poll panel with acting at BJP’s behest. They sought votes to ensure PM Modi’s ouster for failing to deliver on all counts including jobs, farmers distress, development.