Mayawati's Cautious Praise Amid Polls: "It's His (Amit Shah) Magnanimity"

Former Chief Minister Mayawati and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's "mutual praise" weeks before the Uttar Pradesh election outcome has sparked suspicion as the BJP faces severe challenges in its re-election quest in India's largest and most crucial state. 

"It is his badappan (magnanimity) that he has acknowledged the truth," Mayawati stated today in response to Amit Shah's positive evaluation of her campaign in an interview.

She continued, " "But I also want to inform him that the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) has received votes from upper caste and backward caste voters in the three stages of voting in Uttar Pradesh. That's something I'd like to tell him."

Mayawati also provided a noncommittal answer to the BJP's claim that it has crossed the 300-seat threshold in the 403-seat Uttar Pradesh assembly. "Only time will tell if this is true. Who knows, maybe the BSP will win instead of the BJP and the Samajwadi Party." 

The BSP chief's criticisms on Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, with whom she allied briefly for the 2019 national election before a dramatic break, were far harsher.

Mayawati told reporters, "The electorate of Uttar Pradesh have already rejected the Samajwadi Party because they know that wherever that party comes to power, there is goonda raj (crime)." 

In an interview with Sources on Tuesday, Amit Shah stated that Mayawati's importance was "not lost."

The senior BJP leader was questioned if the BSP stealing some Dalit and Muslim votes in Uttar Pradesh will help his party. 

"I'm not sure whether this is a win or a setback for the BJP. It depends on the seat...it is seat specific. But it's not true that Mayawati's relevance is over," Amit Shah added.

Mayawati's low-key campaign, Mr Shah added, did not mean her support base had completely crumbled. 

The Samajwadi Party, the BJP's main electoral rival, is counting on the Dalit-Muslim alliance to raise its vote total.

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