Lucknow: Mayawati today dismissed allegations of covert alliance with the BJP as mere canards by opposition parties, placing Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party on that top list.
Days before the end of the mammoth seven-phase election in Uttar Pradesh, Ms Mayawati told NDTV that she would point the finger at the party that had swept her party from power in 2012. "This is being said by those who oppose us, by our opponents, especially the Samajwadi Party," she said.
In response to the perception that she doesn't speak out enough against the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister, or the BJP, she responded, "I never attack anyone personally, whether it's the Congress or SP."
With a series of comments the Samajwadi Party and other rivals seized on, Mayawati, who had partnered the BJP twice in the past, led to speculation that she was considered the BJP's "B team."
The Samajwadi party had said last month that her claim was an open admission of her links with the ruling BJP, after she said she would ensure the SP candidate's defeat in the MLC election even if that meant voting for the BJP.
Ms Mayawati and Union Home Minister Amit Shah's mutual praise set off speculations before the elections.
In a recent interview, Mayawati had stated, "It's his magnanimity that he has accepted the truth," in response to Amit Shah's positive evaluation of her campaign.
However, today, she said she has "said so much" against the BJP.
"Doesn't it speak for itself that I have mentioned how bulldozers do not operate against non-Muslims and the mafia?" she asked, referring to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's boast that his government has run bulldozers over criminals' properties and been tough on the mafia.
Although Ms Mayawati's silence on the BJP initially sparked speculation, SBSP chief Om Prakash Rajbhar recently said the BSP is contesting elections to divert votes and play into BJP's hands.
BJP strategist Amit Shah decided the BSP's candidates "in his room", she said, and the symbol was only given to the BSP candidate in the BSP office.
"You can ask me this question again after the results are out," Ms Mayawati said, firmly dismissing any possibility of no party gaining a majority.
However, the atypically low-key campaign of the BSP chief, who commands a large following among Dalits in the hugely caste-based UP elections, has called into question the claims of the party leader.
Nevertheless, Mayawati claimed to have her "own way of doing things."
"I do not imitate other parties. I don't do road shows, nor door-to-door canvassing in smaller neighbourhoods... Kanshi Ram ji taught us how to follow a cadre system. So, we don't need to imitate what others do, Now it's the "other parties" who are copying her", she said.
According to the BSP leader, she only took two days off last year. "I have connected with our party workers on the ground, and this time I have selected candidates with the larger community in mind... I have conducted multiple smaller meetings through the year", she added.