Mayawati seeks vote for Cong in Amethi, Raebareli

Locked in a fierce battle on their home turfs of Amethi and Raebareli, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi on Sunday received a shot in their arms, when BSP supremo Mayawati made an appeal to her supporters to vote for the grand old party in the two Lok Sabha constituencies.

Polling will be held in Amethi and Raebareli on Monday.

Although the grand alliance comprising SP, BSP and RLD has not fielded its candidates on the two seats, Mayawati's appeal assumes significance as it comes a day after prime minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the BSP supremo had been ''tricked'' by Congress and SP.

Mayawati, however, made it clear that BSP had no ''understanding'' with the Congress in the state and elsewhere.

''We (alliance) had left these two seats for the top Congress leaders to ensure that they were not bogged down there... BJP might have been benefited if we had not left these seats,'' she said.

Mayawati said that her party had a base vote bank of around 22-23 per cent and claimed that all the BSP supporters would vote for the two Congress nominees in Amethi and Raebareli.

''It is well known that our voters remain silent and do not indulge in the manifestation of their support... there is no doubt that every single vote of BSP supporters will go to Congress in Amethi and Raebareli,'' she added.

Interestingly Mayawati has been attacking both the BJP and Congress in her election rallies.