Rahul Gandhi slams regional parties for betraying people in poll-bound UP

Mirzapur, Feb 9 (ANI): Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the ruling Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) Government and other regional parties in the state for betraying the common man.

Addressing a gathering in Uttar Pradesh's Mirzapur District on the last day of campaigning for the second phase of assembly elections, Gandhi said the regional parties had obliterated the state and that the people should trust the Congress Party.

"Mayawatiji (Uttar Pradesh chief minister) came to power, you trusted her. You ousted Mulayam Singhji (chief of Samajwadi Party) from power in 2007. There was so much anger in you, I remember. You were enraged that he had destroyed UP in his three terms," said Gandhi.

"Now you trusted Mayawatiji, what has she done? Looted money and has a magical elephant which eats up all the money," he added.

Assertively attacking his rivals, Gandhi asked the people to make the choice between the looting regimes of the regional parties or the development-friendly Congress Party.

"Do you want development in the state or not? If you don't need development then clearly you don't need us. Then you support the Bahujan Samaj Party and other thieves and hooligans. If you want to change UP, develop the poor; make schools then see what we have done in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Assam. Then you will come to the Congress party," he added.

The campaigning in 59 assembly constituencies spread over nine districts of eastern region of Uttar Pradesh from Basti, Gorakhpur, Azamgarh and Varanasi divisions came to an end today.

Polling in these constituencies will be held on Saturday. A total of 1,099 candidates are in the fray for this phase.

Over 62 percent voting was registered in the first phase of assembly elections for the 55 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday.

The polls in Uttar Pradesh are being viewed as an opportunity for major parties to re-establish their foothold in the country's fifth largest and most populous state.

Polls in Uttar Pradesh will be conducted between February 8 and March 3. The counting of votes will take place on March 6.

The poll results will broadly indicate trends for the 2014 general elections. (ANI)