Mayawati has always supported our party in times of need: Mulayam Singh Yadav

Ending decades-long rivalry with SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati on Friday said, "Mulayam is real and he belongs to the backward class from his birth".

Addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri, she also said that Yadav had brought together people from different communities under the SP banner.

"Isme koi sandeh nahi hai ki inhone (Mulayam) SP ke banner ke tale UP mein sabhi samaj ke logon ko apni party mein joda hai. Ye PM Modi ki tarah nakli veh farzi pichde varg ke nahi hain, Mulayam ji asli hain. Janam-jaat pichde varg ke hain (There is no doubt that Mulayam Singh has brought together many people under the banner of his Samajwadi Party. Mulayamji is the real leader of the backward classes, unlike PM Modi.)," she said.

Praising Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav said he respects her as she has always supported their party in times of need.

"Aaj Mayawati ji ayi hain, unka hum swagat karte hain, aadar karte hain. Mayawati ji ka bahot samman karna hamesha, kyun ki samay jab bhi aya hai to Maywati ji ne hamara sath diya hai. Hume khushi hai ki hamare samarthan ke liye wo ayi hain (We welcome Mayawatiji, we respect her. Mayawatiji should always be respected because she has stood with us in times of need. I am happy that she has come to support us)", Yadav said.

At loggerheads for decades, Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav and BSP chief Mayawati on Friday shared the dais at a joint rally of the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the Samajwadi Party citadel of Mainpuri.

Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati have been bitter rivals since 1995 when SP cadres allegedly attacked the state guest house where the BSP chief had been camping with her supporters.

The SP patriarch, who is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from the party bastion of Mainpuri was conspicuous by his absence at the three joint rallies held earlier in Deoband, Badaun and Agra due to his antipathy to his party's alliance with the BSP.

Reports suggest that Mulayam Singh Yadav was not too keen on attending Friday's rally as well but was persuaded by his son and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.

(With inputs from agencies)