Political barbs freely flew over the weekend in Uttar Pradesh as the state witnessed the third of its seven-phase election. All the political heavyweights hit the campaign trail - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. And in rally after rally, the digs got increasingly personal in an election that has been described by many as the semi-final before the General Elections of 2019. The digs continued well-into Monday, as the state Chief Minister spoke of PM Modi's Gujarat, Amitabh Bachchan and donkeys.
Here are the Top 10 quotes from their address:
I request the century's biggest superstar, please don't do any ad campaigns for Gujarat's gadhas (donkeys): Akhilesh Yadav
Gujarat's people are doing campaigns for donkeys... Then they accuse me of working only for kabrastan (graveyards)": Akhilesh Yadav
Vikas ka vanvaas (the exile of development) must end now in Uttar Pradesh: PM Modi
If a village has a graveyard it should also have a cremation ground. If there's electricity on Ramzan, it should also be there on Diwali. There must be bijli (power) both on Eid and Holi... There should be no discrimination: PM Modi
You revere Ganga maiyya (river Ganga). Why don't you swear on the Ganga and tell us... is the Samajwadi Party government giving 24-hour electricity in Varanasi or not: Akhilesh Yadav
When PM needs water in between his address and he has to wipe his sweat, think how much people will make him sweat: Akhilesh Yadav
He started by saying he would win this election, needed no partner. Then, when it became clear that fortunes of both his party and his to-be ally were sinking, he decided to tie up, and said the partnership would win. Today, I heard him say he will be the single-largest party. Kya hua, bhaiya? We are only on Round 3 (of voting). Already you are sounding like the game is up: PM Modi
Now the smile has been wiped off his face. He has also come to know that in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress are going to form the government: Rahul Gandhi
As after Bihar polls Modi did not utter the word Bihar, he will forget UP till 2019: Rahul Gandhi
One ducked as he usually does... As for Akhilesh Yadav, he didn't need to. He knows there is no electricity anywhere: PM Modi describing a much-forwarded image capturing Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi's reaction as their car passed below overhead electric wires.
