Wooing the upper castes, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Wednesday promised to protect their interests if voted to power and asked them to rid Uttar Pradesh of the Samajwadi Party's jungle raj in the coming Assembly elections.
She also declared the BSP candidates for by-elections to three Lok Sabha constituencies to be held along with the Assembly elections.
Anil Shukla has been nominated from Bilhaur, Ramesh Dubey from Mirzapur and Bhailal Kol from Robertsganj (SC). "Our party will strive to protect the interests of the poor and unemployed people from the upper caste and also those of the farmers, lawyers and others professionals," Mayawati said.
She released a booklet appealing to the people to vote for the BSP and said, "We don't believe in issuing election manifestos that promise the moon but in doing what we say."
Mayawati said her party was not against any religion or caste and asked the upper castes not to be misguided by her political opponents its ideology and principles.
She alleged that the SP regime had created a sense of fear and terror and asked the common man to rid the state of its jungle raj.
She likened herself to a modern-day Krishna and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to Kansa, whose atrocities she would end, saying: "'Maya roopi roopi Krishna hi is adhunik Kansa ke raj ko samapt kar sakti hai'".