'Hema Malini bana dunga' vs 'maal wahi hai': RLD-SP and BJP's jibes

With just over a week left before the first phase of voting in Uttar Pradesh, the contenders stepped up attacks on each other.

Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Jayant Chaudhary sparked a controversy with a comment linked to Hema Malini, the actor-turned-politician who is currently the BJP MP from Mathura in UP. Chaudhary, who is allied with the Samajwadi Party for the polls, reportedly spoke about a purported conversation between Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and a leader of the RLD. Chaudhary reportedly said that Shah told his party leader that he would be made Hema Malini if he joins the BJP.

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The ruling party had earlier tried to woo Chaudhary by saying that its doors are always open for the RLD, a party considered to be influential among the Jat community in west UP.

Addressing a rally, the RLD chief reportedly said that he doesn't want to be Hema Malini, and brought up the deaths of farmers in Lakhimpur. In the case, Union minister Ajay Mishra's son is an accused. The Opposition has been demanding his sacking from the Union Cabinet.

Meanwhile, incumbent CM Yogi Adityanath mocked Akhilesh and Jayant as 'do ladko ki jodi'. He also referred to Akhilesh's tie-up with Rahul Gandhi-led Congress in the last elections, and linked them to the Muzaffarnagar riots. The BJP leader claimed that while Akhilesh fanned violence, Rahul tried to secure immunity for the rioters.