AKHILESH TAKES BACK SUV GIVEN AS GIFT

Lucknow: It was like adding insult to injury for Mahan Dal chief Keshav Dev Maurya on Saturday who is miffed with Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav for giving him and his party the short shrift in the recently concluded MLC and Rajya Sabha polls.

Upset over not getting his pound of flesh, the Mahan Dal leader decided to pull out of its pre-poll alliance with SP, which lasted for seven months. No sooner did the news of his pulling out become public and then Maurya got a call from the Samajwadi Party office. Assuming it to be a patch-up bid from SP, the Mahan Dal chief picked up the phone only to be told that the party (SP) wanted the swanky SUV sent to him by Akhilesh, back. An aghast Maurya couldn’t believe his ears. According to him, Akhilesh had gifted him a top-of-the-line fully automatic Fortuner SUV last Diwali after he inked a pact for the assembly elections 2022. The family had posed for lensman with the prized possession and his better half had even performed the customary ‘pooja’ before setting out on a tour in their brand new car. There was only one catch: The vehicle was registered in the name of the Samajwadi Party.

In the last assembly elections, Akhilesh Yadav had decided to fight the elections with smaller parties. But Mahan Dal failed to win any seat. “Post elections we have not been given our due share. We were given only 2 assembly seats to contest though we had asked for 13. “Yadav is now surrounded by people who butter him, he doesn’t need me now and he doesn’t need any grassroot level workers. Those who are pressuring him are being sent either to the Rajya Sabha or the Legislative Council. I have been ignored and Yadav doesn’t even talk to me,” accused Maurya. He also alleged that people involved in the security of the SP chief were taking money to allow people to meet him. As per SP sources, the vehicle was requisitioned without the knowledge of the party chief by one of the office-bearers.