MAINPURI (UP): At loggerheads for decades, SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati shared the dais at a joint rally of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the Samajwadi Party citadel of Mainpuri on Friday.
Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have been bitter rivals since 1995 when SP cadres allegedly attacked the state guest house where the BSP chief had been camping with her supporters.
The SP patriarch, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the party bastion of Mainpuri was conspicuous by his absence at the three joint rallies held earlier in Deoband, Badaun and Agra due to his aversion to his party's alliance with the BSP.
Reports suggest that Mulayam Singh Yadav was not too keen on attending Friday's rally as well but was cajoled by his son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav who has confirmed the SP founder's presence at the Mainpuri rally.
Mayawati asked workers of both the BSP and the SP to shun their differences and work for the victory of the alliance in the state.