Addressing an election rally at the Parade ground here in the run up to the second phase of UP poll, Gandhi said: “Kya swarth ke liye. (Inhone) ek doosre ka haath nahin pakda? Jaat-paant ki aur phirkaparasti ki bimari faila dee..Lekin ab dard had se guzar chuka hai (Did these parties not hold each others’ hands for selfish interests? They have spread the disease of caste, creed and opportunism. But now the pain has crossed its limit).”

She also recalled how the Samajwadi Party and BSP joined hands on one occasion, while the BJP-BSP settled for “six-month musical chair”.

Earlier in the day, addressing another rally in Unnao, she had said: “Congress is not contesting these elections to forge a coalition with any party but for forming its government.”

“Congress would establish a relationship of trust with the people and would stand by them in the good and bad times”, she added. While stating that there was no difference between the BJP, BSP and Samajwadi Party, Gandhi said all these parties have entered into alliances with each other at different times and ruined the state by distributing chairs (posts) to serve their vested interests.

Attacking the BSP, Gandhi said that the Centre sent lots of money to the state for public welfare purposes, but “uski ek jhalak bhi kaheen dikhai nahin deti hai (we don’t even get a glimpse of it)”. Seeking to portray the decay the state has suffered at the hands of other parties, Gandhi, who arrived nearly two hours late, recalled the heritage of Allahabad, and its role in the freedom struggle.