Uttar Pradesh Election 2017: Mayawati also took shots at the Samajwadi Party and the BJP.
Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati today cast her vote in the
third phase of the Uttar Pradesh assembly election, held in
69 constituencies across 12 districts. The former Chief Minister cast her vote in poll booth number 251 in Lucknow. She also addressed the media after casting her vote and urged voters of the 12 districts to cast their ballots in large numbers.
"Firstly, I would like to urge each and every voter in the third phase to come out and cast their ballot in their respective polling booths," she said.
Ms Mayawati further stated that she was confident of the Bahujan Samaj Party's victory in the Uttar Pradesh election.
"Two phases of the election have already been held and on that basis, I can confidently say that BSP will secure the maximum seats in the third phase.We will emerge as the single largest party with at least 300 seats," the Rajya Sabha member said.
Ms Mayawati also took a potshot at her rivals - the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.
"We don't build castles in the air like the Samajwadi Party, Congress or the BJP," she jibed.
"People are turning out in large numbers at my rallies. They are sick of the Samajwadi Party's
goondaraj and
jungleraaj. Uttar Pradesh wants an environment of peace. Even the BJP has failed to fulfill even a fourth of their Lok Sabha promises," she added.
Ms Mayawati seeks to become a five-time Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh after being in the opposition for five years. Her party performed dismally in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, where it failed to win a single seat. This time, the BSP has fielded a record number of Muslim candidates to win over the community, which is seen as a major votebank of the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.