Mahan Dal chief Keshav Maurya, who recently joined hands with Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, on Sunday urged people to vote for Congress without looking at the candidate, even if he belongs to Pakistan.
Mahan Dal chief Keshav Maurya, who recently joined hands with Congress for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, on Sunday urged people to vote for Congress without looking at the candidate, even if he belongs to Pakistan.
"Don't give vote by looking at the candidate. People should give their vote to 'panja' (Congress) even if the candidate is good or bad, from outside or here. Even if the candidate is from Pakistan, Mahan Dal workers have no issue with it," Maurya said while addressing a rally here.
1. Cong leaders at Maurya's rally
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Congress leaders Raj Babbar, Rashid Alvi and Naseemuddin Siddiqui were present at Maurya's rally.
On February 13, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia had announced that the party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with Maurya's Mahan Dal.
Welcoming Maurya on board, Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi told media: "Maurya will contest the upcoming elections with us. Rahul Gandhi has given us a goal to build inclusive politics. This is an effort towards that. We will give everything into this fight for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections."
2. Alliance announced on February 13
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"I welcome Keshav Maurya ji. We will fight the elections jointly. Rahul ji has given us the task of creating a political atmosphere in which everyone is taken along and all sections of the society are represented," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"We will contest with full might," she asserted.
3. Cong has always thought of Dalits: Maurya
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Maurya said, "The Congress has always thought about the welfare of Dalits and backward castes. It is the only party which thinks of taking everyone along with itself." "At present, there is an atmosphere of anarchy in the entire state. The alliance between Congress and Mahan Dal will last long," he said.
The Mahan Dal had forged an alliance with the Congress for the 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
It had joined the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2014 but contested the 2017 UP Assembly elections separately.
In the western Uttar Pradesh, the Mahan Dal contested three Lok Sabha seats of Badaun, Nagina and Etah, though it faced defeats in all these constituencies.
The Mahan Dal claims support from the OBC voters of the western UP, especially Shakyas, Mauryas and Kushwahas.
