Will Varanasi be a Repeat of Rae Bareli in 1977, Wonders Mayawati

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Saturday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, accusing them of spreading hatred across the country. She also raked the 1977 election, when socialist leader Raj Narain pulled a stunning victory on the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, wondering if Varanasi could repeat this historic feat.

"This breach of promise and betrayal with Purvanchal has happened when PM and UP's CM represent this region. Yogi has been rejected by Gorakhpur, so in this situation, won't PM Modi's loss in Varanasi be more historic than his victory? Will Varanasi repeat 1977's Rae Bareli?" tweeted the former UP chief minister in Hindi.

In another tweet, she writes, "The Gujarat model of PM Modi was not at all successful in eliminating extreme poverty, unemployment and backwardness in Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region, a blatant act of breaking the promise. Instead of development, the Modi-Yogi double-engined government has only given communal tension, hatred and violence to the country, which is very sad."