A day after the BJP's record win in Uttar Pradesh, Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut took a swipe at Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati and All India All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi, saying they should be awarded a Padma Vibhushan or Bharat Ratna for their "contribution" in BJP's victory.
"BJP achieved a great victory. UP was their state, still, Akhilesh Yadav's seats have increased 3 times, from 42 to over 125. Mayawati and Owaisi have contributed to BJP's win, so they must be given Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna," Mr Raut was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Mr Raut flagged that despite the BJP's win in four states, its chief minister in Uttarakhand lost, two Deputy Chief Ministers in Goa faced defeat and the party was "rejected completely" in Punjab.
"The PM, Home Minister, Defence Minister, everyone campaigned tremendously in Punjab, then why did you lose in Punjab? UP, Uttarakhand, Goa were yours already, which is fine. But, you have lost more in Punjab as compared to Congress and Shiv Sena in UP," the Sena MP said.
The BSP and AIMIM have been accused by many in the Opposition of being "B" teams of the BJP that contest polls to divide anti-BJP votes.
Both parties have repeatedly denied such allegations.
In her first reaction following yesterday's rout, in which the BSP won just one seat, Mayawati slammed media platforms for spreading the falsehood that the BSP was the BJP's "B-team" and stressed that only her party can defeat the BJP.
Mr Owaisi yesterday said he respects the decision of the public and added that the minorities in Uttar Pradesh were "used as vote banks".
In the politically significant state, the BJP and its allies won a total of 273 out of the 403 seats in the politically significant state.
The Akhilesh Yadav-led party won 111 seats on its own and the alliance led by it posted victory in 125 constituencies. This was the Samajwadi Party's best performance ever.
Mayawati's party received a vote share of 12.8 per cent and managed to win just one seat. AIMIM failed to open its account and its vote share stood at a 0.49 per cent.
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