BSP comes down on Salman campaign

Thousands had turned out in Bandra and Chandivali to watch Salman Khan as he campaigned for Priya Dutt on Wednesday. And the star said, "Priya is an honest and hard working candidate. I urge you to vote for her. She should win by a huge margin."

But Haji Ibrahim Sheikh aka Bhaijaan, the BSP candidate from Mumbai north central, was quick to criticise rival Dutt's move to have Khan in her campaign. "It's a shame that a person who has run over people on the streets and has been convicted for killing an endangered animal is being used in the Congress campaign," said Sheikh.

"This goes to show how serious Priya Dutt and her party are about the poor. If the Congress feels that it can win votes just by fielding such stars, they will have to do a serious rethink of their strategy," he said.

Though Sheikh came down heavily on the Congress, he didn't think twice before borrowing one of their ideas. In one of his rallies, party workers sported masks of Sheikh and BSP chief Mayawati.

But Sheikh defended himself, saying, "I have not copied anyone's idea. I am using these masks to tell people that if you vote for me, there will be several Ibrahim Sheikhs who will work for the betterment of the society."