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Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and other senior politicians on Sunday cast their votes in the third phase of Uttar Pradesh elections and claimed that their parties will form the next government.
Photographs: Nand Kumar/PTI Photo and Sandeep Pal
BSP supremo Mayawati, who cast her vote in Mall Avenue area in Lucknow, told reporters that her party is winning over 300 seats in the state and she is going to form the next government in UP.
"Going by the trends of first two phases, I can say that the BSP will take lead in this phase also and remain number one in other phases too. We are going to form the next government on our own and we are winning over 300 seats," she said.
On the Bharatiya Janata Party, she said the party had not fulfilled even half of its promises made in Lok Sabha polls and people are ‘not going to give them any chance in UP’.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, after casting his vote in Lucknow, also claimed that the BJP was getting the majority.
“I am sure that the BJP is going to get absolute majority,” Singh said while appealing to people to come out in large numbers for voting.
In Saifai (Etawah), Akhilesh too aired similar views for his party alliance after casting his vote.
“People of the state have made up their mind in favour of the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance.
“After the third phase half of the elections will be over. The way in which we took lead in first and second phase, the momentum will continue in later phases also,” he told reporters.
On chances of sabotage in the party, Akhilesh said, “There are no chances of this as a large number of people are coming to vote. We will win more seats than we won in previous (2012) polls.”
On chances of Mayawati’s BSP, he said, “Her language and behaviour show that she is not getting good response.”
On uncle Shivpal Yadav, Akhilesh said, “I just want that all the SP candidates win.”
In Etawah, SP patron Mulayam Singh Yadav said there was no rift in the party and his son Akhilesh will become CM again.
“There is no rift in SP. Akhilesh will become chief minister as a lot of development work was done in his regime,” Yadav told reporters after casting his vote.
Asked why he was not actively campaigning for his party candidates, he said, “I am campaigning. Other phases are left, I will campaign.”
When asked about his brother Shivpal, who is contesting from Jaswant Nagar in SP stronghold Etawah, Mulayam said, “He will win by a big margin.”
Asked about ‘adopted son’ remark of the prime minister, the SP patriarch said, "He can say whatever he wants. The fact remains that UP has adopted the Samajwadi Party."